 "Apollo Hospitals' board approves Rs 2,250-cr expansion plan")
Apollo Hospitals Enterprises Limited (AHEL) said that it had received its board's approval to invest Rs 2,250 crore targeting expansion over the next three years. The investment will be funded through existing funds, incremental debt and internal accruals, according to company’s 2012-13 annual report.
The country’s leading hospital chain, which till now focused mostly on major urban clusters, has now shifted its focus to Tier-II and Tier-III cities. It also plans to set up a Proton Therapy Centre in Chennai, a first-of-its-kind in Asia-Pacific, which would cater to the needs of patients in Asia, Africa and Australia.
For expansion, the company has chalked out a three-pronged strategy, which includes expanding beds and facilities in the existing clusters, setting up new hospitals in metros and large cities with no existing presence in order to reach out to a wider urban population and lastly to simultaneously expand in Tier-II and Tier-III cities in India through ‘Apollo Reach’.
The ongoing expansion projects include its entry into cities like Mumbai, Patna, Vishakapatnam and Indore as well as strengthening of clusters in Chennai and Bangalore.
As far as Reach Hospitals, it is planning to increase the bed strength by 500 in fiscal 2014, which includes three Reach hospitals in Tiruchy (Tamil Nadu), Nellore (Andhra Pradesh) and Nasik, apart from a mix of tertiary care and community hospitals. The Reach Hospitals' network is of secondary care facilities with 100-200 beds in Tier-II and Tier-III cities.
Already, the Reach hospitals are operating in Tier-II cities including Kakinda, Karaikudi, Karimnagar, Bhubaneswar and Karur. Now, three more are coming up in Nashik, Nellore and Tiruchy.
During the current fiscal, the hospital chain plans to increase its number of beds in the group by 1,000 across seven locations. As of March 31, 2013, Apollo had 8,420 beds in India and overseas across 51 hospitals. Of the total 8,420 beds, 6,382 beds across 38 hospitals are owned by Apollo and 2,038 beds across 13 hospitals are under management through operations and management contracts.
Plans exclusive visa for international patients
Apollo Hospitals has been working on an idea to introduce a separate visa category for medical purposes. According to the company's annual report 2012-13, it has already started the dialogue with the central government. This will not only help the hospital chain to get more number of international patients, but other hospitals are also expected to get benefited from this move.
The most benefited state would be Tamil Nadu, especially Chennai. It may be noted that the city has been receiving around 200 foreign patients every day, according to the Confederation of Indian Industry estimate. Around 0.85 million tourists came to India for treatment in 2011 and in 2012 it went up to 1.1 million. Tamil Nadu witnesses inflow of medical tourists from West Asia, Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia.
It said the number of international patients coming to its hospital, from across the country and mostly in Chennai, was around 70,000 each year.The legal ramification of permitting doctors with overseas qualification to work on India shores is under consideration.
| Apollo in talks with Govt to introduce exclusive visa for international patients |
| Apollo Hospitals moots an idea to introduce a separate visa category for medical purposes |
| According to company's Annual Report 2012-13, the Hospital chain already started the dialogue with the Government of India. This will not only help the hospital chain to get more number of international patients, but other hospitals are also expected to be benefited from this move. The most benefited state would be Tamil Nadu, especially Chennai |
| It may be noted, the city receives around 200 foreign patients every day, according to Confederation of Indian Industry estimate. Around 8.5 lakh tourists came to India for treatment in 2011 and in 2012 it went up to 1.1 million. Tamil Nadu witnesses inflow of medical tourists from Middle-east, Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia mostly |
| Apollo Hospitals has said that number of international patients coming to its hospital, across the country and mostly in Chennai, is around 70,000 each year |
| The legal ramification of permitting Doctors with overseas qualification to work on India shores is under consideration, said Apollo |
| In order to attract large number of number of medical value travellers, the Hospital has increased its marketing efforts in markets such as AFrica, Middle East and South East Asia |