“This is a milestone joint venture for NMC,” Prasanth Manghat, chief executive of NMC Health, said in a phone interview. Victor Besa / The National National Reporter: Shareena Al Nuwais
“This is a milestone joint venture for NMC,” Prasanth Manghat, chief executive of NMC Health, said in a phone interview. Victor Besa / The National National Reporter: Shareena Al Nuwais

NMC Health signs deal to expand into Saudi Arabia and eyes Egypt growth



The UAE's NMC Health is expanding in Saudi Arabia with a deal that will make it the second-largest non-state healthcare provider in the kingdom, even as it eyes growth opportunities in Egypt.

The London-listed company signed a non-binding agreement with a unit of Saudi Arabia's biggest pension fund to form a joint venture that will provide healthcare facilities in Riyadh and secondary cities, NMC Health said in a statement on Monday. NMC will own a majority stake in the new healthcare company.

“This is a milestone joint venture for NMC,” Prasanth Manghat, chief executive of NMC Health, said in a phone interview. “NMC grew from 600 beds to the second-largest healthcare provider in Saudi without paying cash.”

NMC Health has focused on the GCC, particularly the UAE, Saudi and Oman, for its expansion. Rising demand for healthcare services in Saudi Arabia and government initiatives to boost public-private partnerships are set to create significant investment opportunities in the country, Knight Frank said in a report last month. The kingdom's 2020  National Transformation Plan has set out targets for the healthcare sector, including increasing private healthcare spend from 25 per cent to 35 per cent of the total healthcare expenditure.

The joint venture between NMC and Hassana Investment Company, a unit of the General Organisation for Social Insurance (GOSI), will see NMC hold a minimum stake of 51 per cent and operational management control of the assets, Mr Manghat said. The exact size of the stake will be determined when the final terms are set.

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The new platform will be formed through NMC contributing its Saudi assets of 664 hospital beds and Gosi transferring its 39 per cent stake in the Tadawul-listed National Medical Care Company (Care) into the new company. Gosi’s shares in Care will be swapped at 70 Saudi riyals (Dh68.56) and it will continue to own a significant indirect stake in Care through this proposed joint venture, the statement added. 

“We are not paying any cash for this, it’s a pure asset swap,” Mr Manghat said.

The company, which will have a capacity of 1,489 beds, will operate in the kingdom's biggest healthcare market Riyadh and cities including Jeddah, Khobar, Hael and Najran, he said. NMC will become the second-biggest non-state healthcare provider in the kingdom after the Dr Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Group, he added.

"The JV platform would be well-positioned to become one of the most dominant healthcare players in Saudi Arabia and is ideally positioned to capitalise on the health care privatisation programme in Saudi Arabia in line with the country's Vision 2030 initiatives," Saad Al Fadly, chief executive of Hassana, said in a statement.

The proposed joint venture drives future expansion for NMC in Saudi Arabia where it will seek to take majority and minority stakes in Saudi-based healthcare operators, according to the statement. It will also acquire operation and management contracts to oversee private and government hospitals in the kingdom.

“The JV will create immense opportunities in the medium to long-term” Mr Manghat said, declining to reveal potential stake purchases.

The joint venture is pending regulatory approvals and signing definitive agreements after both parties complete the necessary due diligence.

NMC is also eyeing growth in the Arab world’s most populous country Egypt, where it has 800 beds, but still needs to study the market.

“It is a very interesting market and is fundamentally strong,” Mr Manghat said. “Once we understand the market, and we believe it’s a good market, we will definitely look at opportunities in Egypt.”

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UAE squad
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Venus Williams - 5 titles (2000, 2001, 2005, 2007 and 2008)

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Name: Kumulus Water
 
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In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458. 

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. 
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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”.
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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

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Key figures in the life of the fort

Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.

Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.

Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.

Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.

Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.

Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.

Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.

Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.

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7.30pm: The President’s Cup – Listed (TB) Dh380,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Haqeeqy, Dane O’Neill, John Hyde.

Results

STAGE

1 . Filippo Ganna (Ineos) - 0:13:56

2. Stefan Bissegger (Education-Nippo) - 0:00:14

3. Mikkel Bjerg (UAE Team Emirates) - 0:00:21

4. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) - 0:00:24

5. Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana) - 0:00:30

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION

1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) - 4:00:05

2. Joao Almeida (QuickStep) - 0:00:05

3. Mattia Cattaneo (QuickStep) - 0:00:18

4. Chris Harper (Jumbo-Visma) - 0:00:33

5. Adam Yates (Ineos) - 0:00:39

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Director: S Sashikanth

Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan

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Cases of coronavirus in the GCC as of March 15

Saudi Arabia – 103 infected, 0 dead, 1 recovered

UAE – 86 infected, 0 dead, 23 recovered

Bahrain – 210 infected, 0 dead, 44 recovered

Kuwait – 104 infected, 0 dead, 5 recovered

Qatar – 337 infected, 0 dead, 4 recovered

Oman – 19 infected, 0 dead, 9 recovered

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Graduated from the American University of Sharjah

She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters

Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks

Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding