Dubai, UAE: According to TVM Capital MENA, a leading provider of equity capital to the life sciences and healthcare industries in the region, there are two main types of investment opportunities in the local healthcare space; highly specialised healthcare service providers that are well established in more mature markets (Europe, U.S.) but have yet to expand into the MENA region; and specialised healthcare service providers that exist in local markets but do not provide a sufficiently high quality of service.

 Youssef Haidar, who is a partner at TVM Capital MENA, will be discussing the financing of specialised clinics of the future at the Leaders in Healthcare Congress at the 3rd Hospital Build Middle East Exhibition & Congress which will run from 13 – 15 June 2011 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. 

Mr. Haidar says: “We view the healthcare market in the MENA region to be one of the most attractive markets for healthcare investments in the world. The healthcare market has experienced stellar growth over the last decade and is projected to maintain its growth momentum driven by a multitude of factors including demographic growth, high and expanding medical needs, more active investments by governments and private sector in the healthcare market, development of social welfare systems, introduction of private insurance market, increased healthcare regulation, introduction of compulsory health insurance in a number of countries; to name a few.

“One of the key drivers of being a successful investment manager is deep domain expertise. It is because of this firm belief that TVM Capital MENA have been exclusively focusing on only one sector for over 25 years. Our financial returns are a true testament to our strategy as we have realised a gross annual IRR of 26% on existing investments over the last two decades.  Healthcare in specific is a sector in which sector expertise is even more critical in our opinion to create investment value.”

According to Haidar, the fertility sector represents one of the most attractive market opportunities in the healthcare sector globally with the sector growing at 10%-15% annually. This is driven mainly by demographic shifts that lead to continuous increase in the age of women who seek childbirth.  In MENA and India the growth rates are substantially higher, while the markets are significantly under-supplied both quantitatively and qualitatively.

Bourn Hall Clinic is the world’s leading brand in fertility treatments and stands at the forefront of medical innovation in this field. Home to the first test tube baby to be born in 1978, Bourn Hall has largely defined what today has become the standard of In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF). Over 10,000 babies have been born as a result of Bourn Hall procedures over the last 30 years.

“TVM Capital, together with the Bourn Hall executive management team, has developed a tailored regional service offering focusing on MENA and India. Bourn Hall India will be the first premier operator to offer standardised quality over a chain of centres under one brand, as well as a clinic opening in Dubai later this year,” says Haidar. 

Leaders in Healthcare is a one-day conference which will address ‘specific drivers’ for leaders spearheading the tripartite strategic partnership in Healthcare: the government, the patient and the physician to improve the bottom line via productivity, efficiency and performance.

The Hospital Build Middle East Congress offers a multi-track conference series consisting of seven leading conferences which will address hospital design and upgrade, surgery management, imaging and diagnostics, healthcare management, quality standards and accreditation, integrating business with healthcare technology as well as the Leaders in Healthcare event.

The Hospital Build Middle East Exhibition is set to double in size with more than 100 exhibitors covering 3,000sqm of exhibition floor space net, with an estimated 3,500 visitors.

For information about Hospital Build Middle East Exhibition and Congress, please call +971 3365161 or visit www.hospitalbuild-me.com.

-END-

Note to Editors

About IIR Middle East:

For more information about IIR Middle East, please visit www.iirme.com or www.informaexhibitions.com.

About TVM Capital MENA:

For more information about TVM Capital, please visit www.tvm-capital.com.

For media enquiries please contact:

Inga Stevens

PR Manager

Life Science Division

IIR Middle East

T: +971 4 407 2743

F: +971 4 336 4021

inga.stevens@iirme.com

Dubai, UAE: Experts at ICME Healthcare, a management consultancy firm acting as a lead consultant for the Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA), foresee innovative business models as a future for tapping opportunities within healthcare development projects and reducing rising healthcare costs in the Gulf region.

“Despite suffering at the hands of the recent global financial crisis the healthcare industry seems to fare better than other industries” says Mr. Holger Micheel-Sprenger, Partner and Managing Director, ICME Healthcare. Mr. Micheel-Sprenger strongly recommend interaction between industry experts including financers, promoters, regulatory authorities, ministry officials to work together for innovative business models as this is the need in the aftermath of the crisis.

To network with the key players in the Middle East’s healthcare construction and management industry, top level decision-makers will visit the third annual Hospital Build Middle East Exhibition and Congress, running from 13 – 15 June 2011 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

“The event is dedicated to bringing the investors, commissioners, bankers and managers of major healthcare building projects together with the suppliers of the best services in planning, design, building, operations, management and refurbishment,” says Mr. Simon Page, Divisional Director, IIR Life Sciences Middle East & Asia. “Running alongside the exhibition is a multi-disciplinary congress consisting of seven leading conferences that will focus on delivering up-to-date information which will address all the disciplines involved with the hospital build process.”

As per the latest World Health Organisation data, the GCC countries spend around US$18 billion on healthcare per year, most of which is government funded. The healthcare systems in the Gulf region currently face increasing healthcare demand and expenditures triggered mainly by a growing and ageing population.

“The Middle East region in particular is characterised by a high prevalence of diabetes, obesity cardio-vascular diseases, and increasing cancer diseases. These factors, along with a high prevalence of smoking coupled with changes in health insurance regulations have lead to an increase in the demand for health services in the region,” Mr. Micheel-Sprenger explains.

“Both healthcare demand and spending are on the rise in the GCC Countries. The current healthcare-spend growth rate in the region stands ranges between 6-8 %. No other region in the world faces such rapid growth in demand with the simultaneous need to realign its health-care systems to be able to treat the disorders of affluence.

“In the GCC, estimates from various sources indicate around 120 – 140 hospitals are planned for construction with a total bed capacity of over 30,000 beds. As per high-level analysis done by us, we anticipate a bed requirement of around 400,000 to 450,000 beds in the MENA Region by the year 2020.”

This results in significant opportunities for private health companies to deliver innovative business models in healthcare infrastructure relating to construction, financing, operations and management.

Mr. Micheel-Sprenger continues: “Though infrastructure requirements persist, upcoming projects need to be decided based on the regional demographic requirements inbuilt with capacity planning and operational requirements of the medical facility while pursing the feasibility studies. A similar approach is practiced within ICME Healthcare.”

For information about Hospital Build Middle East Exhibition and Congress, please call +971 3365161 or visit www.hospitalbuild-me.com.

-END-

Photo caption: Hospital Build Middle East Exhibition and Congress 2010

Note to Editors

About IIR Middle East:

For more information about IIR Middle East, please visit http://www.iirme.com/ or http://www.informaexhibitions.com/.

About ICME:

For more information about ICME, please visit www.icme.com.

About SEHA:

For more information about SEHA, please visit ww.seha.ae.

For media enquiries please contact:

Inga Stevens

PR Manager

Life Science Division

IIR Middle East

T: +971 4 407 2743

F: +971 4 336 4021

inga.stevens@iirme.com

“The popularity we have achieved in no time proves the dire need for such a project; thus, N2V’s expertise and know-how combined with our ambition will help us build on our success.” said Mohammed Albsimi, Electrony’s CEO.

“We have a great team with individuals who are passionate about new technologies and gadgets. We are working hard to accomplish our goal of creating the most comprehensive and complete guide to consumer electronics in this region”,” Albsimi explained.

Rashid Al Ballaa, N2V CEO, stated “This is the fourth investment announcement we have declared since the beginning of 2011 and it comes as part of our strategy to support promising regional startups and entrepreneurs. N2V will provide Electrony.net with the necessary tools and resources to help them expand and reach bigger markets.”

Electrony.net, a Saudi based startup, has been founded by Mohammed Albsimi in February 2010. It aims to establish the first comprehensive consumer electronics guide in the Arab region. The guide provides reviews, reports and other necessary information to a wide base of users in the Middle East.

N2V (National Net Ventures) is an Internet Holding company, whose core business is to develop online and interactive web-based ventures. N2V invests capital in a variety of ventures from startups to more established companies; it also offers infrastructure, resources, experience and know-how to these companies to accelerate their growth.

The assembly is designed to explore the growing area of clean technology and examine ways in which the Arab region can become the key global hub for innovation and investment into this vital area of research and development.

Recognising the need for significant efforts in clean technology to be made, Al Rayan Investment is a founding member of Cleantech Group LLC, the event organisers, and a staunch supporter of environmental initiatives such as these.

Spoke at the event CEO of Al Rayan Investment, Mr. Ali M. Al Mansoori said:

“The future of the planet lies in the effective development of sustainable energy technologies. We recognise that there is a significant need to improve the levels of investment and air time being given to these aims, and our part in the founding of Cleantech Group demonstrates just that. We are delighted to be able to support them further being here, the United Arab Emirates in general and Abu Dhabi in particular represents one of the world’s technologically most progressive regions and we hope this event will bring about new levels of support and input from governments, investors and innovators”.

The Inaugural Arab Region Assembly was held at the Beach Rotana Hotel, Abu Dhabi on 22 June 2009.

Commenting on this round, Abdul-Majid Qasem, d1g.com Executive Director, said that the first round of investment went as expected and scheduled and d1g.com was able to attract the necessary funding for the next phase. He added that d1g.com has succeeded in attracting a number of big investors who are expected to accelerate dg.com growth and increase its popular base.

Qasem said that the amount raised would help the company improve its products and services to achieve the board of directors’ vision and aspirations. He noted that the next strategic investment round of negotiations with some of the leading capital and private equity firms in the region are still going on, which reflects the site’s investment opportunities and their economic viability.

It should be noted that d1g.com, the leading Internet website, was launched in 2007 to provide through its electronic portal and its regional offices, (Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait), a number of advanced electronic services.

Since its inception, d1g.com succeeded in attracting a community of more than 3 million people per month, generating more than 20 million impressions and excess of 15 million online monthly videos. Thus the site became first unchallenged Arab website for sharing video files.
In addition to returns on financial investment, d1g.com succeeded in attracting a number of talents to enhance its position as a powerful regional portal capable of providing for the needs of its different generations users.

In September 2008, d1g.com succeeded in recruiting Dr. Usama Fayyad, Yahoo!’s Chief Data Officer and Executive Vice President, who became a member of d1g.com board of directors. Dr. Fayyad took on the role of Executive Chairman of d1g.com in early 2009. He will work closely with the d1g.com team and our partners to develop d1g.com to become one of the leading international sites.

“I am very excited about working with and investing in d1g.com. The company’s continued progress in this difficult market, is a witness of the value produced by the company for both users and marketers alike.”

“I am very excited about working and investing in d1g.com. The company’s capacity to attract investments in this difficult market, is a witness of the value produced by the company for both users and marketers alike.”

d1g.com was again able to attract Karim Kawar to become an Active Advisor on Board of Directors. Karim Kawar, had previously served as Jordan’s Ambassador to the United States of America in Washington, DC, and is currently an adviser to a number of regional capital and technology companies. It should be noted that Kawar is a leading businessman in the technology sector and he has contributed to the establishment of a number of successful specialized companies in the region.

“I have given advice to d1g.com since its early days. I’m impressed with the growth rates and the number of audience reached by this company in the region,” said Karim Kawar.

He added that “the company has grown from an idea and became a vital community of more than 3 million people in a record time. This is an indicator of the company’s technical capabilities and the strength of its logistics structure. No doubt that this transformation is impressive by all standards. The region is ready for a new generation of internet portals and social networking and d1g.com was able to meet the many needs of Arab users.”

Since its creation, d1g.com continues to consider several acquisitions as well as continue its organic growth — having grown 100% in number of users during the first half of 2009 alone!