Foundation Holdings to invest $30m in health care and education in Bahrain

Investment includes a new medical centre focused on specialised health care and non-communicable diseases

Bahrain is seeking to attract FDI into its healthcare and education sectors. Getty Images

Dubai-based investment company Foundation Holdings plans to invest $30 million in Bahrain's healthcare and education sectors as it seeks to tap into growing demand in the Gulf country.

The Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) and Foundation Holdings signed an agreement to launch the latter's affiliate companies in the country, the organisation said in a statement on Wednesday. These will include a new medical centre focused on specialised health care and non-communicable diseases.

"This is a strategic investment that has the potential to unlock significant opportunities for healthcare providers in Bahrain over the coming years," Mahmood Al Aradi, Bahrain EDB's chief investment officer, said. "Our strategic location, our competitive business offering ... and the growing demand for healthcare services will all play a fundamental role in contributing to the success of the project.”

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Bahrain's healthcare market has been growing at an annual average rate of 12.2 per cent to an estimated $2 billion in 2020, up from about $1.1bn in 2015, underscoring the growing investment opportunity within the key sector, according to the statement.

"Bahrain is poised to become a major hub for finance, health care, education, technology and innovation," Abhishek Sharma, chief executive of Foundation Holdings, said.

Foundation Holdings, a global strategic investment firm, is  focused on the healthcare and education sectors in India and the Gulf. It currently holds investments in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and India.

The company will use the funds to set up its portfolio companies in Bahrain, which will create 300 to 500 locally sourced, specialised healthcare jobs, according to the statement.

Foundation Holdings will introduce its primary care provider Right Health – an affiliate of Foundation Holdings – which will be anchored around a new research and development centre in the country. Along with a chain of outpatient and diagnostic facilities and pharmacies, it will offer a clinical capacity of 150 doctors and nurses to serve as many as 500,000 patients annually.

The agreement also includes launching medical solutions through ProMedEx – another Foundation Holdings affiliate – who will work with the country’s major private and public hospitals to offer the latest orthopaedic and general surgery implants and devices.