NMC Health finalised a joint venture agreement with Saudi Arabia’s General Organization for Social Insurance that includes up to 6 billion riyals of investments in the kingdom over a five-year period
NMC, a London-listed UAE healthcare provider, signed a preliminary agreement in October last year with Hassana Investment Company, the investment arm of GOSI, to set up a joint venture that will acquire and develop facilities with a capacity of up to 3,000 beds and employ up to 10,000 full-time and part-time employees.
“This partnership will allow NMC to significantly increase its pace of expansion in the Kingdom, while simultaneously bringing best practices to the country,” said Prasanth Manghat, the chief executive of NMC in a statement on Tuesday. “The attractive, but under-served Saudi healthcare market offers significant growth opportunities and the JV is uniquely placed to benefit from them."
Saudi Arabia, the Arabian Gulf’s biggest healthcare market, is encouraging private sector involvement in its healthcare industry to help meet rising demand for medical services due to an expanding population, increased treatment costs and rising insurance coverage, according to a report from Dubai investment bank Alpen Capital.
Spending in the kingdom’s healthcare sector is forecast to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 6.1 per cent to reach $59.5bn by 2022 from an estimated $44.3bn in 2017.
The JV includes NMC’s contribution of its five assets in the kingdom, an additional cash injection at closing of requirements, and GOSI's contribution of its 38.88 per cent stake in Tadawul-listed National Medical Care Company at a price of 54 riyals per share. NMC did not disclose the value of the money to be pumped into the JV or the timeline for the closing of the requirements.
“At the closing of the transaction, NMC will own a 52 per cent stake (through the combination of asset contribution and cash injection) and GOSI will own a 48 per cent stake (through a wholly-owned subsidiary vehicle) in the JV,” the statement said. “NMC will have operational control of the JV."
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
CHINESE GRAND PRIX STARTING GRID
1st row
Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
2nd row
Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes-GP)
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
3rd row
Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing)
Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull Racing)
4th row
Nico Hulkenberg (Renault)
Sergio Perez (Force India)
5th row
Carlos Sainz Jr (Renault)
Romain Grosjean (Haas)
6th row
Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
Esteban Ocon (Force India)
7th row
Fernando Alonso (McLaren)
Stoffel Vandoorne (McLaren)
8th row
Brendon Hartley (Toro Rosso)
Sergey Sirotkin (Williams)
9th row
Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso)
Lance Stroll (Williams)
10th row
Charles Leclerc (Sauber)
arcus Ericsson (Sauber)
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
The Matrix Resurrections
Director: Lana Wachowski
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jessica Henwick
Rating:****
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Six things you need to know about UAE Women’s Special Olympics football team
Several girls started playing football at age four
They describe sport as their passion
The girls don’t dwell on their condition
They just say they may need to work a little harder than others
When not in training, they play football with their brothers and sisters
The girls want to inspire others to join the UAE Special Olympics teams
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
more from Janine di Giovanni
