Response Plus Holding, the UAE’s largest provider of healthcare services and a unit of Alpha Dhabi Holding, has announced the opening of a new health technology centre in Dubai.
The new branch of Health-Tech Training — opened in partnership with the American Safety and Health Institute — is part of Response Plus's expansion and aims to enhance teaching methods and improve learning through expert support for professional development, the company said on Saturday.
“With growing demand in the global market for health services, comprehensive support of medical and non-medical training is essential. Response Plus is readily prepared to supply expert resources to train the community with tailored and accredited courses," said chief executive Tom Louis.
Training and preparation in the healthcare sector have become a focal point in the UAE, and were especially highlighted during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Emirates has been widely praised for its handling of the crisis thanks to an organised and thorough vaccination drive, stringent precautionary measures and a strong healthcare industry.
Response Plus said the new centre, approved by Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services, has also been accredited as the first and only establishment to offer courses for pre-hospital trauma life support and all-hazards disaster response.
Both courses are accredited by the US National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians and recommended for all pre-hospital care providers, including doctors, nurses, emergency medical technicians and paramedics, it added.
It will also will offer courses in basic life support, advanced cardiovascular life support and paediatric advanced life support.
Response Plus has a strong presence in Abu Dhabi, where it trains 25,000 candidates annually. The expansion is part of its plans to "pave the way as an industry leader with even greater numbers across the UAE and internationally", Mr Louis said.
The new branch forms part of Response Plus's strategic plan for additional centres across the UAE and internationally, particularly in Saudi Arabia, Oman, India and Ethiopia.
Response Plus has a fleet of more than 250 ambulances and over 260 clinics run by a workforce of about 1,600. Its Health-Tech Training arm opened in 2014 and is accredited by the American Heart Association, Highfield International and the European Resuscitation Council, NAEMT.
The company, founded in 2010, listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange's Second Market in September 2021.
Alpha Dhabi Holding, listed on the ADX, is a subsidiary of the emirate's International Holding Company. It was established in 2013 and is one of the fastest-growing investment holding companies based in the capital, with more than 100 businesses spread across health care, agriculture, petrochemicals, real estate, construction and hospitality.
It was formerly known as Trojan Holding and is a strategic contributor to the UAE economy.
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From Europe to the Middle East, economic success brings wealth - and lifestyle diseases
A rise in obesity figures and the need for more public spending is a familiar trend in the developing world as western lifestyles are adopted.
One in five deaths around the world is now caused by bad diet, with obesity the fastest growing global risk. A high body mass index is also the top cause of metabolic diseases relating to death and disability in Kuwait, Qatar and Oman – and second on the list in Bahrain.
In Britain, heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s remain among the leading causes of death, and people there are spending more time suffering from health problems.
The UK is expected to spend $421.4 billion on healthcare by 2040, up from $239.3 billion in 2014.
And development assistance for health is talking about the financial aid given to governments to support social, environmental development of developing countries.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Date started: early 2020
Founders: Khawla Hammad and Inas Abu Shashieh
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech and wellness
Number of staff: 4
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Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
