Shivinder to give up executive role at Fortis

He will continue on the Board of Directors but he's taking up full-time 'Sewa' at Radha Soami Satsang

Shivinder M Singh, vice-chairman at the country’s second-largest health care chain, Fortis, has decided to give up his executive role and serve the Radha Soami Satsang. Singh, 40, will become non-executive vice-chairman from January 2016, but continue to be on the board of directors. His elder brother, Malvinder M Singh, 42, will continue to be the executive chairman.

Shivinder plans to take up full-time sewa at Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB), a spiritual organisation headquartered near Amritsar, Punjab, the company said.

“Having spent almost two decades setting up and running Fortis, our mission of saving and enriching lives is an integral part of my being. Over time, this has inspired me to do more direct service and give back to society a little of what I have received in abundance,” Shivinder said.

The two brothers, who jointly set up and grew the health care business from scratch, together hold 71.33 per cent stake in the company that has a market cap of about Rs 8,000 crore. The company’s stock closed at Rs 175.60 at the BSE, up nearly three per cent from the previous day. The duo also hold a 51 per cent stake in financial services company, Religare, valued at Rs 5,200 crore and own the SRL Diagnostics chain.

The brothers had inherited pharmaceutical company Ranbaxy from father Parvinder Singh (who passed away in 1999), ran it for several years and sold their stake to Japanese buyer Daiichi Sankyo for $4.6 billion in 2008. In April 2014, Sun Pharmaceutical bought Ranbaxy for $4 billion.  

Fortis has trimmed its debt by close to Rs 4,600 crore over the past couple of years to less than Rs 1,200 crore, by selling most of the foreign assets it had acquired in the recent years.

It is looking to report profits this year.  Fortis reported a consolidated income of Rs 4,089 crore in the year-ended March and a net loss of Rs 144 crore.

The company, which went ahead with a series of foreign acquisitions earlier, now plans to focus less on expansion and more on enhancing services and margins. Therefore, Shivinder’s decision will not have a material impact on operations. In July, the brothers reappointed Bhavdeep Singh as the chief executive, who rejoined the company after four years.  

At a time when most Indian business families have split, the Singh brothers continue to share a strong bond. The two draw the same salary and perquisite.