The acquisition of Abu Dhabi’s Harley Street Medical Centre (HSMC) by Aster DM Healthcare is expected to give the Dubai company a platform to expand in day care services in the capital.
Aster DM bought a 60 per cent stake in HSMC for an undisclosed amount last week.
“This is a niche sector and we see it as a good sector to grow,” said Kartik Thakrar, the financial controller for the Arabian Gulf region at Aster DM Healthcare.
The company has five polyclinics in Abu Dhabi under the Aster brand as well as eight pharmacies.
There are 110 employees at the centre, including 20 doctors, and Aster DM expects that number to grow as it expands in size in six months, to 35,000 square feet from 18,000 sq ft. It will also introduce new services within three months. After the expansion, Mr Thakrar said, it will apply for a hospital licence.
The company expects to float an initial public offering in Mumbai next year.
Changes made to health cover benefits offered by national insurance company Daman this year have made it more expensive for some residents to seek treatment outside the emirate.
One of the reasons for Dubai providers buying facilities in Abu Dhabi is because of these changes in regulations, said Mansoor Ahmed, the director for healthcare practices at Colliers International.
“The day care facilities market in Abu Dhabi is less developed than in Dubai and hence less competition, and it is easier to expand faster in this segment in Abu Dhabi if a Dubai provider buys an established day care provider with an established patient base,” he said.
With new technology, patients can undergo some procedures at a day care centre and be discharged the same day.
Insurance companies are encouraging the day care facilities to reduce the load at hospitals in Abu Dhabi as it reduces the cost of hospital stays, Mr Ahmed said.
HSMC, in the Marina Business Park, offers services in urology, cosmetic surgery, gynaecology, gastroenterology, orthopaedics, paediatrics, internal medicine and general surgery. It started operations in 2013. Aster DM’s purchase also includes a sleep lab clinic and a dental centre close to the existing facility.
There is a shortage of about 700 hospital beds in Abu Dhabi, according to Colliers International.
“This partnership not only expands our niche service offering, but gives us an additional platform to deliver sophisticated healthcare services,” said Azad Moopen, Aster DM Healthcare’s chairman and managing director.
The law firm Clyde & Co, which was AsterDM’s adviser on the deal, said the healthcare group is now a US$6 billion business.
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Sarfira
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Zidane's managerial achievements
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PAKISTAN v SRI LANKA
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The bio
Date of Birth: April 25, 1993
Place of Birth: Dubai, UAE
Marital Status: Single
School: Al Sufouh in Jumeirah, Dubai
University: Emirates Airline National Cadet Programme and Hamdan University
Job Title: Pilot, First Officer
Number of hours flying in a Boeing 777: 1,200
Number of flights: Approximately 300
Hobbies: Exercising
Nicest destination: Milan, New Zealand, Seattle for shopping
Least nice destination: Kabul, but someone has to do it. It’s not scary but at least you can tick the box that you’ve been
Favourite place to visit: Dubai, there’s no place like home
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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A Long Way Home by Peter Carey
Faber & Faber