publish time

23/12/2015

author name Arab Times

publish time

23/12/2015

Amitava Ghosal, Executive Board Member and CEO of AVIVO GROUP Amitava Ghosal, Executive Board Member and CEO of AVIVO GROUP

KUWAIT CITY, Dec 22: ‘Al Masah Capital Limited’, one of the region’s leading alternative investment and asset management firms, has announced the rebranding of its healthcare private equity initiative, ‘Healthcare MENA Limited’ (HML), to ‘AVIVO GROUP’. The group has announced plans to expand its presence in Kuwait, a market that has been key in the group’s operations since inception in 2011 as well as being on a solid growth track to hit $9.1 billion in 2018.

‘Al Masah Capital Limited’ revealed its plans to invest around $300 million to support the growth and regional expansion of ‘AVIVO GROUP’ in the GCC countries within the next two years. This investment will increase the number of healthcare facilities operating under the ‘AVIVO GROUP’ brand from 32 to 50 in the next two years. This expansion is set to create more than 1,000 new job opportunities for GCC residents, and at the same time increase the annual reach of the group’s medical services from 1.3 million patients to almost 2 million patients all over the GCC region.

Healthcare markets in the GCC are extremely promising and remain undersupplied despite rapid growth. In fact, data suggests that the market is projected to continue growing at an annual rate of 11.1 percent to hit $87 billion by 2018. In Kuwait, the developing healthcare sector has seen demand pressures exerted by population growth and increasing life expectancy. The high-potential healthcare market is expected to hit $9.1 billion in 2018, delivering a CAGR of 13.5 percent from 2010.

“Al Masah Capital is very active in alternative investment strategies. We believe in securing returns for investors while focusing on socially relevant sectors such as healthcare and education. AVIVO GROUP healthcare network is set to become one of the largest in the region, and we are focussing our efforts in the countries that have been the home of our operations in the last four years, such as Kuwait,” said Shailesh Dash, Founder, CEO and Board Member of ‘Al Masah Capital Limited’ and Chairman of ‘AVIVO GROUP’.

‘AVIVO GROUP’ currently manages and operates 2 hospitals, 14 speciality centres, 8 high-end dental centres, 6 pharmacies, and 2 diagnostic facilities. In addition to employing more than 200 highly qualified doctors, specialized in 22 medical specialities, ‘AVIVO Group’ has a staff capacity of more than 1,000 experienced and well trained medical professionals.

 “Healthcare is one of the key industry sub-sectors earmarked for investment as part of Kuwait’s $110 billion infrastructure development programme. Per capita healthcare spending is also on the rise, with an ambitious five year plan targeted towards boosting GDP and development as a whole,” said Amitava Ghosal, Executive Board Member and CEO of ‘AVIVO GROUP.

“AVIVO GROUP believes that virtuous public private partnerships can introduce innovation in healthcare, and will definitely help the Kuwaiti government meet rising demand for excellent health services through world class facilities. Our plans are closely aligned with those of the Kuwaiti government, which is spending considerably on healthcare initiatives and wants to attract world class facilities and operators to the country,” added Ghosal.

The rebranding comes as part of an overall strategy to position ‘AVIVO GROUP’ as one of the largest integrated healthcare services providers in Kuwait and the region. The unified brand, ‘AVIVO GROUP’, will ensure consistency in operating procedures, best practices and corporate values across all operations in current and future markets. The rebranding also reflects the commitment that ‘Al Masah Capital Limited’ has held to invest in socially relevant sectors, such as healthcare and education, those sectors that positively touch people’s lives.

In the past few years, ‘AVIVO GROUP’ has successfully expanded its presence in Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah. The group has plans to strengthen its presence in those cities and expand its network into new markets, such as Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and South East Asia, with further details to be announced by the group on later stages. During the next two years, ‘AVIVO GROUP’ will be present in 5 of the 6 Gulf countries.