HOSPITALS BANGKOK DUSIT MEDICAL SERVICES BGH facing growth challenges as economy drags its feet
CHAROEN KITTIKANYA
Bangkok Post
Bangkok Dusit Medical Services (BGH), which operates the Bangkok Hospital, Samitivej and BNH hospital brands, says the ongoing economic and political uncertainties, southern unrest and baht appreciation will pose challenges to growth. ''We expect the country's overall health care industry is unlikely to achieve the 30% growth we achieved in 2006,'' said Dr Pongsak Viddayakorn, BGH's president. ''In the first quarter, the industry, measured from the performance of the listed health care providers, grew less than 20%.''
According to Dr Pongsak, the group expects its revenues to grow by about 20% to 25% this year from 16 billion baht in 2006, when the company grew more than 25% from a year earlier.
Earlier, Dr Pongsak had estimated that the opening early this year of a new hospital in Siem Reap, Cambodia, the company's first investment outside Thailand, should help BGH's revenue to rise 30% this year.
BGH has also invested 500 million baht in another hospital in Phnom Penh due to open over the next two years.
According to Dr Pongsak, BGH also expects to enter overseas joint ventures in the hospital business in the Middle East over the next two years.
BGH, which specialises in heart and cancer treatment, is Thailand's biggest hospital company by market capitalisation at 38.7 billion baht, ahead of Bumrungrad Hospital and Bangkok Chain Hospital.
BGH welcomed half of the one million foreigners who came to Thailand for treatment last year. It plans to increase the proportion of foreign patients to 35% from 30% in 2006, Dr Pongsak said.
As part of a strategy to stimulate local business, the group yesterday introduced the Chivawattana MyHealth Membership Programme, which entitles cardholders to health-care benefits through the 14 Bangkok Hospital branches nationwide. Services of BNH Hospital and Samitivej would be included at a later date, company executives said.
The Chivawattana MyHealth Membership Programme offers outpatients and in-patients benefits ranging from medical check-ups and specialised treatments to diagnostic services utilising advanced medical technology, such as the 64-slice CT scan for examining the heart, and the PET/PC machine for early cancer detection. Additional features include discounts on dental exams, dermatological treatments, lasik procedures, and others.
The programme is divided into three membership cards: Perfect Diamond, Prime Platinum, and Junior (for children), all of which provide a three-year membership period.
The Perfect Diamond programme, for instance, costs 30,000 baht for a three-year membership, but the cardholders will be eligible for benefits worth up to 168,500 baht, excluding other discounts, according to Assoc Prof Ajjima Srethaphutr, director of the Chivawattana MyHealth Membership Programme.
According to Dr Pongsak, the group expects its revenues to grow by about 20% to 25% this year from 16 billion baht in 2006, when the company grew more than 25% from a year earlier.
Earlier, Dr Pongsak had estimated that the opening early this year of a new hospital in Siem Reap, Cambodia, the company's first investment outside Thailand, should help BGH's revenue to rise 30% this year.
BGH has also invested 500 million baht in another hospital in Phnom Penh due to open over the next two years.
According to Dr Pongsak, BGH also expects to enter overseas joint ventures in the hospital business in the Middle East over the next two years.
BGH, which specialises in heart and cancer treatment, is Thailand's biggest hospital company by market capitalisation at 38.7 billion baht, ahead of Bumrungrad Hospital and Bangkok Chain Hospital.
BGH welcomed half of the one million foreigners who came to Thailand for treatment last year. It plans to increase the proportion of foreign patients to 35% from 30% in 2006, Dr Pongsak said.
As part of a strategy to stimulate local business, the group yesterday introduced the Chivawattana MyHealth Membership Programme, which entitles cardholders to health-care benefits through the 14 Bangkok Hospital branches nationwide. Services of BNH Hospital and Samitivej would be included at a later date, company executives said.
The Chivawattana MyHealth Membership Programme offers outpatients and in-patients benefits ranging from medical check-ups and specialised treatments to diagnostic services utilising advanced medical technology, such as the 64-slice CT scan for examining the heart, and the PET/PC machine for early cancer detection. Additional features include discounts on dental exams, dermatological treatments, lasik procedures, and others.
The programme is divided into three membership cards: Perfect Diamond, Prime Platinum, and Junior (for children), all of which provide a three-year membership period.
The Perfect Diamond programme, for instance, costs 30,000 baht for a three-year membership, but the cardholders will be eligible for benefits worth up to 168,500 baht, excluding other discounts, according to Assoc Prof Ajjima Srethaphutr, director of the Chivawattana MyHealth Membership Programme.
1 comment:
Good. Phnom Penh needs a decent hospital. Too many people die at Calmette.
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