Choosing not to make a direct comment on the impasse over the takeover of Singapore-based Parkway Holdings, Fortis group promoter Malvinder Singh today outlined Asia, Africa and the Indian sub-continent as exciting geographies for the Indian healthcare companies.
"Indian healthcare companies are better-served by going into the emerging markets of Asia, Africa and the Indian sub-continent," Singh said after his keynote address at the Pharma Leadership Summit here today.
He, however, clarified that his views were not company-specific but generic ones applicable for the entire industry.
Fortis has been competing with Malaysian state fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd to get a controlling stake in the Singapore-headquartered hospital chain Parkway Holdings. The Indian company will have to make a bid of over USD 2.3-billion for getting the full stake and has been given a deadline till July 30.
Singh, who flew in from Singapore for the Summit, drew parallels between the Indian pharma sector and healthcare, saying, the latter is at the cusp of being made into a global story, just like pharma was in the 1970s.
"Ranbaxy (the company which Singh sold to Japan-based Diachi in 2008) went into the African market and then to Saudi Arabia and elsewhere ... Ten years from now, we will be discussing the Indian healthcare story just like pharma," he said.