Manipal Hospitals plans to add 1,100 beds on top of already existing 10,500

Dilip Jose, MD & CEO of Manipal Hospitals tells Sanket Koul about the hospital chain's expansion plans and whether the company is looking to go for an initial public offering (IPO)

Leading hospital chain Manipal Hospitals has been on an expansion spree, solidifying its position as India’s largest hospital by bed count. This was further strengthened by its recent acquisitions of Kolkata-based AMRI Hospital and Medica Synergie. In an interview with Business Standard, Dilip Jose, managing director and chief executive officer of Manipal Hospitals tells Sanket Koul about the hospital chain’s expansion plans and whether the company is looking to go for an initial public offering (IPO). Edited excerpts:

With the acquisition of Medica and AMRI Hospital, you currently operate 10,500 beds in India. What are your expansion plans for this financial year?

We are building three greenfield projects in Bengaluru with 250 beds each, which are in advanced stages of construction. There is another 350-bed facility coming up in Raipur, Chhattisgarh. So there are 1,100 beds on which we are looking to add. This will be on top of 10,500 beds we already have now.

Two out of the three greenfield projects in Bengaluru would get commissioned in the next twelve months. The third project in Bengaluru and the Raipur facility would take about 20 to 24 months.

Then, we are looking at the option of expanding our presence in Pune and Kolkata. The work at the Kolkata facility may start later this year.  

What would your strategy be with regard to brownfield expansion? 

As a hospital chain, we always need a mix of greenfields and brownfields. For brownfield expansion, we have to be opportunistic. This means we’ll only consider opportunities as they arise in the market or become available.

So, our approach to the future involves identifying geographies or territories that are of interest to us. For example, Kerala is a geography of great interest to us. It’s an adjoining territory to our home market. We are keen on Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam.

We would look at the quality of the asset, in terms of the track record, our ability to modernise the infrastructure or reposition the asset to a Manipal hospital. 

Another softer aspect which is important is whether the asset aligns culturally. This is because a brownfield opportunity comes with the culture and the people in that region. So, the ability of a cultural fit, similarity of processes, are the softer aspects that we always keep in mind.

Now that you are the largest hospital chain, is there any plan to go for an IPO? 

No, not currently.  Although it is an available option, we have not really thought about it. Neither have we started any work on it. We have no timeline for it.

Will you be focusing on any specific specialities with the increase in coverage?

We focus on what we call ‘centres of excellence’. There are seven or eight core specialities that we focus on, like oncology, cardiology, orthopaedics, neurosciences, renal sciences and critical care.

We aim to be a cutting-edge quaternary care hospital player. We would want to have a differential in that sense, where people come to us for things which really can’t get done in many other places. Therefore, we would want to remain focused on eight or nine centres of excellence.