African Medical Investments opens new boutique hospital on Maputo, Mozambique

African Medical Investments (AIM: AMEI) said it has opened its new 30 bed private boutique hospital, trauma centre & Well Woman Clinic in Maputo, Mozambique, replicating its successful first boutique hospital, Trauma Centre & Well Woman Clinic in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, which opened in March 2009.

The opening of this facility is in line with the group’s  strategy to rapidly accelerate the roll-out of private boutique hospitals, Trauma Centres, Well Woman and Well Man Clinics across Africa to meet soaring demand for dedicated private medical services.

The group chose Maputo as a suitable location in which to extend its offering due to its large expatriate community and the low number of health facilities currently in the city.  The facility has 30 beds including three ICU beds and two neonatal ICU incubators.  Additional facilities include a full emergency department, a major and minor operating theatre, delivery rooms, a radiology department with CT scanner, digital X-ray and 4D ultrasound machines, occupational health services, a vaccination centre and a dedicated pharmacy.

The new facility complements African Medical's current healthcare portfolio which includes the Dar es Salaam hospital, the Trauma Centre in Harare and Airport Medical and Vaccination Centres in Johannesburg and Cape Town International Airports. 

The company is also extending its current facility in Harare to include a full boutique 20 bed hospital and refurbishment work is also underway to establish a Well Woman and Well Man Clinic in Nairobi, Kenya.  It is expected that all these facilities will be fully operational by the end of June 2010.

African Medical CEO Vivek Solanki said: “By the end of June, with three hospitals and three clinics operational, we will have a solid foundation from which to make strong expansionary progress.”

At the end of April African Medical completed the drawdown of funds under its equity line agreement with a fund managed by New York based Harbinger Capital Partners LLC, and the £2.995 million raised will be used to further advance the company's growth strategy.

The new funds completed the drawdown under the US$47 million equity line agreed with Harbinger in October 2009. In the latest transactions, The New York firm will subscribe to shares representing 6.05% of the enlarged capital of African Medical. This will consist of 6.5 million shares at 23 pence and 6 million shares at 25 pence and will up Harbinger’s interest in African Medical to 41.89%.

African Medical will use the proceeds to fund its expansion plans. It aims to be managing a total of ten healthcare facilities by 2012.

The group is also evaluating additional sites including Kampala, Uganda, where the company has recently sponsored a medical investment conference, which was attended by the First Lady of Uganda, the President of Kenya, regional health ministers and some 800 doctors.  It is also evaluating opportunities Accra, Addis Ababa and Kigali.

African Medical is the parent company of VIP Healthcare Solutions Ltd which provides healthcare in niche areas, particularly to the expanding African middle classes and the expatriate, non-governmental organisations, diplomatic and tourist markets.

http://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/16428/african-medical-investments-opens-new-boutique-hospital-on-maputo-mozambique-16428.html