The Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) announced on Wednesday the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Foundation Holdings, to invest Rs 218 crore into launching its affiliate companies in Bahrain, including a new state-of-the-art medical centre focused on specialised healthcare and non-communicable diseases.
Foundation Holdings is a healthcare and education investment firm with major investments in India and the Gulf including Mumbai-based Edutech firm Topp.
The launch of primary care provider Right Health - an affiliate of Foundation Holdings will be centered around a new research and development centre that, along with a chain of outpatient and diagnostic facilities and pharmacies, will offer a clinical capacity of 150 doctors and nurses capable of serving as many as 500,000 patients annually.
The agreement also includes launching medical solutions through ProMedEx – another Foundation Holdings affiliate - who will work with the country’s leading private and public hospitals to offer technology orthopaedic and general surgery implants and devices.
The healthcare market in Bahrain has been growing at an annual average rate of 12.2 percent, from an estimated $1.1 billion in 2015 to an estimated $2.0 billion in 2020 which reflects the growing investment opportunity within this key sector.
Abhishek Sharma, Chief Executive Officer of Foundation Holdings said, “This MoU enables us to establish Bahrain as the regional pioneer for healthcare and education and in turn become the springboard for the entire GCC, attracting foreign direct investment and importing global best practice to enhance and boost Bahrain’s position in the global sphere. The latest technologies of our investee companies like ProMedEx and Right Health will further benefit all residents of Bahrain in addition to creating local jobs, and we look forward to using our talent, scale and experience as an effective private sector partner to make a significant positive impact in the Kingdom.”
Commenting on the partnership, Mahmood Al Aradi, Chief Investment Officer at Bahrain EDB said, “This is a strategic investment that has the potential to unlock significant opportunities for healthcare providers in Bahrain over the coming years."
