Focus on to expand footprint in south India, says Aster DM Healthcare founder-chairman Azad Moopen

Aster DM Healthcare, a Dubai-based integrated healthcare provider, is expanding its presence in southern India. They have taken over Narayanadri Hospitals in Tirupati, AP and are looking for more opportunities in Tamil Nadu. They recently rebranded Ramesh Hospitals in Vijayawada, with Aster DM owning 57% of the stakes. This partnership will bring advanced healthcare solutions and expertise to the region.

Amidst plans to shift to and grow its businesses in India, Dubai-headquartered leading integrated healthcare service provider Aster DM Healthcare is looking for more opportunities to expand its footprint in southern India.

Aster DM Healthcare founder chairman and managing director, Azad Moopen along with managing director of city’s Ramesh Hospitals, P. Ramesh Babu, announced the rebranding of the hospital into Aster Ramesh Hospitals in Vijayawada on July 14, 2023.. In an interaction with The Hindu on the sidelines of the programme, Dr. Azad said that plans are afoot for restructuring the company which has a presence in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and India.

“We are segregating between [Aster DM in] India and [Aster DM in] GCC. It will be like India holds GCC. We will be the promoters on both sides but shareholders will be different ones. Once the board decides, the Aster DM in GCC will be a private company and in India, it will continue as a listed company,” Dr. Azad said.

“Currently, we are expanding our facilities in Bengaluru of Karnataka and Trivandrum and Kasaragod of Kerala. We have recently taken over Narayanadri Hospitals in Tirupati of AP. We are looking for more such opportunities and our focus is mostly on southern India. Since we are not there in Tamil Nadu, we are looking for an opportunity to enter the State,” he said.

About other operations of the company, Dr. Azad said Aster has 250 pharmacies and 400 laboratories in India at present and slowly they will be coming up in Andhra Pradesh.

Speaking about Aster Ramesh Hospitals, Dr. Azad said that all of our facilities are 100% owned by Aster but Ramesh Hospitals is an exception. He said Aster DM has initially bought 51% of the stakes in Ramesh Hospitals and recently increased the share to 57% in a deal worth about Rs. 200 crore. He said Aster has 17 hospitals with 4,500 beds in five states of India.

Dr. Ramesh Babu said that all their five hospitals in Vijayawada (3), Guntur and Ongole will now bear the name Aster Ramesh Hospital. He said he started Ramesh Hospitals about 30 years ago with the aim of providing advanced healthcare services in the region so that people do not have to travel to neighbouring states. The partnership with Aster will bring in more advanced healthcare solutions and expertise to the state, he said.