Aster DM gains on plan to set up hospital in Cayman Islands

Aster DM Healthcare rose 3% to Rs 169.70 after the company signed an agreement with the Government of Cayman Islands to set up a clinical excellence hub for the Western Hemisphere.

"Aster DM Healthcare and Cayman Islands Government announced an agreement making the Cayman Islands Aster's clinical excellence hub for the Western hemisphere, serving the Caribbean Region, North America, Canada, Latin & South America, the company said in a statement.

The agreement will see Aster initially develop around 150-bed comprehensive, tertiary and quaternary care hospital, with an opportunity to expand in the future based on need, alongside an assisted living facility and healthcare university in the long-term.

With this project, Aster aims to replicate its Medcity concept which has proven to be highly successful as its flagship facility in Kochi, India. The team leading the project hopes to break ground by mid-2021, with the commencement of the Aster Cayman Medcity - phase 1 construction.

The healthcare services provider said that the project cost is proposed to be around $100 million phase 1 and the company's funding strategy may include an asset light model.

Speaking on the announcement, Dr. Azad Moopen, founder chairman and managing director of Aster DM Healthcare said, With our experience of delivering healthcare over three decades in India and the Middle East, Aster is in the process expanding to other regions.

Apart from catering to the requirements of the local population for tertiary and quaternary care, Cayman Islands in the Caribbean has the potential for attracting patients from USA, Canada and the Caribbean countries for holistic healthcare experience due to its proximity.

We see this also as an opportunity to derisk and diversify our portfolio by adding another geography.

The Cayman Islands, located in the Western Caribbean, has a growing flight network and first-class tourism infrastructure. Just over an hour by air from Miami, it appears perfectly placed to become a regional hub for medical tourism bringing much needed accessibility and affordability for tertiary and quaternary care for Caribbean nations, whilst offering a viable alternative to local care in expensive health systems such as the United States.

Aster DM Healthcare operates in various segments of the healthcare industry, which include hospitals, clinics and retail pharmacies, and provides healthcare services to patients across economic segments in various gulf corporation council (GCC) states through its various brands, such as Aster, Medcare and Access.

The company's consolidated net profit surged to Rs 32.86 crore in Q2 FY21 as against Rs 3.12 crore in Q2 FY20. Net sales during the quarter grew by 8.7% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 2267.71 crore.

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