Conglomerate Mitsui & Co invested $101m in Columbia Asia, a Southeast Asian subsidiary of US-headquartered healthcare provider Columbia Pacific Management, today.
Columbia Asia oversees a network of 27 hospitals and one clinic across India, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia, having opened the first in 1996.
The company claims to be the largest hospital operator in Asia to run its business in several countries under a single brand, and also one of the few to build most of its hospitals.
The Mitsui investment will support additional growth in Asia and the launch of an African branch called Columbia Africa, which will be formalised when its first clinic in the continent opens in Kenya next month.
Mitsui will take two seats on Columbia Asia’s board of directors and will have input into its operations. It also intends to establish cooperative partnerships between Columbia Asia and other portfolio companies including care provider IHH Healthcare, medical data provider Mims Group and dialysis operator DaVita Care.
Koji Nagatomi, chief operating officer of Mitsui’s healthcare and service division, said: “Columbia Asia has proven over more than 20 years that it can enter new markets across various countries and develop international, high-quality hospitals that meet the needs of the emerging middle class.
“The company has also established a firm presence in countries where healthcare spending and insurance coverage are going up at a very rapid pace, which positions the firm well in coming decades.”
– Photo courtesy of Columbia Asia Healthcare