KUALA LUMPUR (April 6): IHH Healthcare Bhd recently completed its protracted acquisition of a 31.17% stake in Fortis Healthcare Ltd, thus expanding its footprint in India.

IHH managing director and CEO Dr Tan See Leng sees the healthcare service provider at a transformational stage and aims to take its offerings to a new level.

It plans to do this through the digitalisation of IHH’s healthcare services.

“In the next three to five years, IHH will have a huge IT arm, transforming it into a more digitised and digital healthcare platform, because we’ve got 84 hospitals,” he explains.

He also hints at the possibility of IHH unlocking the value in some of its assets.

More importantly, in an exclusive interview in The Edge, Tan addresses the issues at Fortis and explains what IHH saw in India's second-largest hospital chain.

IHH acquired its 31.17% shareholding in Fortis last November in a US$584 million deal. The total investment could reach US$1 billion if it is allowed to acquire more shares in Fortis.

The acquisition adds to IHH’s sprawling healthcare empire that stretches across Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, India, China, Turkey, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Dubai, Mauritius, United Arab Emirates and Sri Lanka.

With a market capitalisation of RM49.11 billion as at last Thursday, IHH is the second largest healthcare operator by market capitalisation in the world.

For more on Tan’s thoughts on managing and growing IHH, read the latest issue of The Edge.

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