Washington, D.C., January 28, 2007
- In response to a strong need for private medical services in Egypt and Yemen, the International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, will support the Middle East and North Africa's health care industry by financing the expansion of the Saudi German Hospitals Group.
IFC will provide a $37 million financing to support a new hospital in Sana’a, Yemen, and the construction of a hospital in Cairo, Egypt.
Saudi German Hospitals Group has been a major participant in Saudi Arabia’s health sector since 1988, and the group owns and operates five hospitals. The 300-bed, multispecialty hospital in Sana’a, which opened in June 2006, and a hospital of similar size under construction in Cairo will raise considerably the standard of medical care in both countries.
Guy Ellena, IFC’s Health and Education Director, noted, “IFC is very happy to support Saudi German Hospitals Group in a project that will provide a benchmark of excellence and raise the standards of health care in Egypt and Yemen. We also share with the group a belief in the need for ‘South-South’ investment and are keen to help them bring better medical services to underdeveloped markets across the region.”
Michael Essex, IFC Director for the Middle East and North Africa, added, “The hospitals in Egypt and Yemen will relieve the growing burden on the public health system in these countries, stimulate the development of private health insurance, increase employment opportunities for local health care professionals, and facilitate the international exchange of best medical and management practice across the group.”
Sobhi Abduljaleel Batterjee, President of the Saudi German Hospitals Group, noted, “The new hospitals in Yemen and in Egypt represent the first steps in a larger strategy to bring high-quality medical care to the Middle East and North Africa, especially where better services are most needed. We are delighted that IFC shares our vision in this regard.”
Mr. Batterjee added that Saudi German Hospitals Yemen is an excellent regional model for public private partnerships in health care with equity investment partners, such as Yemen Airways, Yemen’s Ministry of the Interior, and General Organization for Social Insurance, as well as a commercial investor, Global Investment House based in Kuwait. Olympic Group of Egypt is the strategic partner for Saudi German Hospitals Egypt. “The vision and support of these institutions, both corporate and public, will play a very positive role in shaping the health care industry in the region,” he said.
About IFC
The International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, is the largest multilateral provider of financing for private enterprise in developing countries. IFC finances private sector investments, mobilizes capital in international financial markets, facilitates trade, helps clients improve social and environmental sustainability, and provides technical assistance and advice to businesses and governments. From its founding in 1956 through FY06, IFC has committed more than $56 billion of its own funds for private sector investments in the developing world and mobilized an additional $25 billion in syndications for 3,531 companies in 140 developing countries. With the support of funding from donors, it has also provided more than $1 billion in technical assistance and advisory services. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
About the Saudi German Hospitals Group
The Saudi German Hospitals Group, owned by Bait al Batterjee Medical Company or BAB, is the leading provider of health care services in Saudi Arabia. It employs over 5,000 staff and operates about 1,600 hospital beds. Based on extensive experience accumulated over the past 20 years and capitalizing on new opportunities in the private health care sector in the Middle East and North Africa, the group’s sponsors have adopted a corporate vision to design, finance, build, and operate 30 world-class hospitals and create 50,000 jobs by the year 2015. It also hopes to be the dominant regional player in private medical education by establishing five medical colleges by the year 2010.
