Alpen Capital projects strong growth for the GCC healthcare industry

Alpen Capital launched its Industry Research services at the beginning of this year to complement its existing Corporate Advisory services, including Debt and Equity Advisory, Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory and Credit Ratings advisory. Regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority and based at the DIFC, Alpen Capital is the associate and investment banking arm of Bank Sarasin-Alpen (ME) Ltd, a subsidiary of the Swiss private bank, Bank Sarasin & Co Ltd., Switzerland.

The GCC Healthcare Industry report is the fourth report published by Alpen Capital this year.
Previous reports focused on the GCC Retail, Insurance and Cement industries respectively.

"One of the main aims of our industry research services is to provide objective overviews of various industries in the GCC, including the key listed and private players, from an investor's standpoint. The GCC Healthcare Industry report talks about how we see this relatively recession proof industry evolving over the next decade."

says Mahboob Murshed, Managing Director at Alpen Capital.

GCC Healthcare Industry Outlook

"The GCC healthcare sector is on a growth trajectory. The industry is poised for unparallel and consistent growth accompanied by a fundamental shift in the industry structure, infrastructure quality, payer model and funding options. The GCC countries are likely to experience a sharp increase in healthcare needs primarily led by a growing and ageing population and a rise in chronic non-communicable 'lifestyle' diseases. We expect the industry to reach a market size of about $47-55bn by 2020, equivalent to a 9% CAGR" says Tommy Trask, Executive Director and Head of Equity Research services at Alpen Capital.

The GCC hospital project pipeline is very significant. Assuming announced healthcare projects are delivered on time, we see a sufficient supply of hospital beds in all GCC countries, except Oman, to meet the expectation of strong growth in demand. The UAE and Qatar have the most ambitious pipelines as measured by the number of hospital beds per capita, and are banking on medical tourism from within and outside the GCC countries to maintain adequate hospital occupancy rates across the industry.

According to Alpen Capital, the GCC healthcare services sector will witness major improvements in the quality of services provided and in competitiveness on a global scale. The region's endeavors in setting up integrated healthcare facilities in the form of healthcare cities and medical hubs, coupled with continuous improvement in technology and infrastructure, will significantly improve the availability and quality of healthcare services in the region.