The UAE-based healthcare services provider Burjeel Holdings, which is aiming to go public later this year, announced its entry into Saudi Arabia on Wednesday and said it will invest up to $1 billion in the Arab world’s biggest economy by 2030.
The company has joined forces with Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Investment and aims to partner with various healthcare organisations in the kingdom. It will explore investment opportunities through joint ventures and public-private-partnership models, under the agreement.
Founder and chief executive Shamsheer Vayalil said Saudi Arabia is a key focus market for Burjeel Holdings.
"We are proud to commit to this [memorandum of understanding] with the Ministry of Investment — a significant step in our entry to the kingdom,” Mr Vayalil said.
“We are excited about the many opportunities to support the kingdom’s healthcare ambitions and to bring our expertise to a sector, which is integral to the delivery of Vision 2030."
Founded in 2007, Burjeel Holdings is one of the leading private healthcare services providers in the UAE, with a growing presence in the wider Gulf region. It has a network of 61 assets, including 39 hospitals and medical centres, as well as pharmacies and other allied services.
It is seeking to raise at least $750 million from an initial public offering in Abu Dhabi this year, Bloomberg reported earlier this month.
In May, UAE-based VPS Healthcare consolidated its healthcare assets in the UAE, Oman and the rest of the Gulf under a holding company called Burjeel Holdings as part of the next phase of its expansion. The move created one of the largest integrated health networks in the region.
Demand for healthcare services has grown amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Companies are consolidating their assets to gain scale and add additional services including diagnostics, testing and other support services to better serve patients and increase their market share.
In January, Abu Dhabi holding company ADQ merged its healthcare subsidiaries with Alpha Dhabi’s Pure Health Medical Supplies to streamline their portfolios, creating the UAE’s largest healthcare provider.
The healthcare sector in Saudi Arabia is also undergoing a massive transformation as part of its Vision 2030 strategy.
Saudi Arabia spends the most on healthcare in the GCC, according to Statista show. It had the highest share of its gross domestic product spent on healthcare compared to the region last year.
The kingdom also has one of the highest densities of medical professional per thousand residents in the region, the report said.
As per the new agreement, Burjeel intends to establish various healthcare offerings across Saudi Arabia. They include speciality medical centres, day surgery capability, digital health ventures, super speciality hospitals and clinical research programmes. The company has also committed to explore research and innovation in the areas of cancer prevention, screening and therapy.
In addition to healthcare services delivery, Burjeel will also work with the Ministry of Investment in areas of humanitarian aid and international healthcare volunteering, the company said.
“The group is in discussions with various private sector providers and leading public sector hospitals in Saudi to deliver these services and expects to begin formalising collaboration agreements over the coming months,” it said.
The company reported revenue of nearly Dh3.4bn ($912.4m) in the 2021 fiscal year, representing an 18 per cent compound annual growth rate over the three-year period from 2019 to 2021.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
Coffee: black death or elixir of life?
It is among the greatest health debates of our time; splashed across newspapers with contradicting headlines - is coffee good for you or not?
Depending on what you read, it is either a cancer-causing, sleep-depriving, stomach ulcer-inducing black death or the secret to long life, cutting the chance of stroke, diabetes and cancer.
The latest research - a study of 8,412 people across the UK who each underwent an MRI heart scan - is intended to put to bed (caffeine allowing) conflicting reports of the pros and cons of consumption.
The study, funded by the British Heart Foundation, contradicted previous findings that it stiffens arteries, putting pressure on the heart and increasing the likelihood of a heart attack or stroke, leading to warnings to cut down.
Numerous studies have recognised the benefits of coffee in cutting oral and esophageal cancer, the risk of a stroke and cirrhosis of the liver.
The benefits are often linked to biologically active compounds including caffeine, flavonoids, lignans, and other polyphenols, which benefit the body. These and othetr coffee compounds regulate genes involved in DNA repair, have anti-inflammatory properties and are associated with lower risk of insulin resistance, which is linked to type-2 diabetes.
But as doctors warn, too much of anything is inadvisable. The British Heart Foundation found the heaviest coffee drinkers in the study were most likely to be men who smoked and drank alcohol regularly.
Excessive amounts of coffee also unsettle the stomach causing or contributing to stomach ulcers. It also stains the teeth over time, hampers absorption of minerals and vitamins like zinc and iron.
It also raises blood pressure, which is largely problematic for people with existing conditions.
So the heaviest drinkers of the black stuff - some in the study had up to 25 cups per day - may want to rein it in.
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more from Janine di Giovanni
Should late investors consider cryptocurrencies?
Wealth managers recommend late investors to have a balanced portfolio that typically includes traditional assets such as cash, government and corporate bonds, equities, commodities and commercial property.
They do not usually recommend investing in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies due to the risk and volatility associated with them.
“It has produced eye-watering returns for some, whereas others have lost substantially as this has all depended purely on timing and when the buy-in was. If someone still has about 20 to 25 years until retirement, there isn’t any need to take such risks,” Rupert Connor of Abacus Financial Consultant says.
He adds that if a person is interested in owning a business or growing a property portfolio to increase their retirement income, this can be encouraged provided they keep in mind the overall risk profile of these assets.
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Who is Mohammed Al Halbousi?
The new speaker of Iraq’s parliament Mohammed Al Halbousi is the youngest person ever to serve in the role.
The 37-year-old was born in Al Garmah in Anbar and studied civil engineering in Baghdad before going into business. His development company Al Hadeed undertook reconstruction contracts rebuilding parts of Fallujah’s infrastructure.
He entered parliament in 2014 and served as a member of the human rights and finance committees until 2017. In August last year he was appointed governor of Anbar, a role in which he has struggled to secure funding to provide services in the war-damaged province and to secure the withdrawal of Shia militias. He relinquished the post when he was sworn in as a member of parliament on September 3.
He is a member of the Al Hal Sunni-based political party and the Sunni-led Coalition of Iraqi Forces, which is Iraq’s largest Sunni alliance with 37 seats from the May 12 election.
He maintains good relations with former Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki’s State of Law Coaliton, Hadi Al Amiri’s Badr Organisation and Iranian officials.
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Keep it fun and engaging
Stuart Ritchie, director of wealth advice at AES International, says children cannot learn something overnight, so it helps to have a fun routine that keeps them engaged and interested.
“I explain to my daughter that the money I draw from an ATM or the money on my bank card doesn’t just magically appear – it’s money I have earned from my job. I show her how this works by giving her little chores around the house so she can earn pocket money,” says Mr Ritchie.
His daughter is allowed to spend half of her pocket money, while the other half goes into a bank account. When this money hits a certain milestone, Mr Ritchie rewards his daughter with a small lump sum.
He also recommends books that teach the importance of money management for children, such as The Squirrel Manifesto by Ric Edelman and Jean Edelman.
