Fortis plans 25 new hospitals

Ranbaxy Group company Fortis Healthcare Ltd on Monday said it plans to have 25 hospitals across the country in the next three years and is looking into the possibility of tapping the capital markets for expansion.

"We are more or less through with our North Indian plans and would now work on our national programme," Shivinder Mohan Singh, joint managing director, Fortis said on the sidelines of the India Economic Summit.

Singh said the company plans to have around 25 hospitals in three years. Currently, Fortis has ten hospitals operating and six are in various stages of development in north India.

The company is working on a model to have general hospitals with one or two specialities, he said, adding that the expansion would follow this path only.

Declining to give financial details on the project, Singh said, "We have hired Mckinsey & Co to assess our financial requirements. After completion of study, we may go for an initial public offer."

Singh, however, did not rule out some more acquisitions in the region. Fortis had recently acquired the Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre from Rajan Nanda's Escorts.