Hospital chain Aster DM Healthcare's plans to sell its Gulf business may run into rough weather with voting advisory firm Institutional Investor Advisory Services (IiAS) raising concerns over the transaction. Recommending an 'against' vote on the resolution, IiAS has said there is no clarity on how Aster DM will utilise the proceeds that it will obtain by selling the unit, which contributes to bulk of its revenues. In November, Aster DM had announced its plans to sell its wholly-owned subsidiary Affinity Holdings, which conducts business in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, to Alpha GCC for $1 billion.
'Now that we are a pure-play India business, many investors are open to investing.'
Hospital stocks have emerged as a strong theme in 2026, outperforming benchmark indices due to robust earnings growth, improved occupancy, higher average revenue per occupied bed, and aggressive expansion plans by major chains.
Buoyant domestic sales are expected to lift revenues for pharma companies by 8-11 per cent in Q3FY26, even as declining generic Revlimid (cancer drug) sales in the US remain a key drag. Most brokerages forecast a modest 2-4 per cent growth in profit after tax (PAT) for the quarter. Hospitals and diagnostics companies, meanwhile, are likely to post much stronger numbers, with revenues seen growing 20-22 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y).
While the West Asia conflict has led to a drop in patient footfalls, hospitals are seeing higher realisations as international patients increasingly travel for complex, high-end procedures.
'Along with Blackstone, we would be keen to look at opportunities in the North.'
'Cancer incidence is projected to increase by 12.8 per cent by 2025 compared with 2020, necessitating more dedicated cancer treatment centres and specialised beds.'
Mutual funds (MFs) scooped up smallcap shares across sectors such as healthcare, banking and financial services in March 2024 amid a near 4.5 per cent fall in key smallcap indices. Aster DM Healthcare, NLC India, and Aavas Financiers topped the list of most-bought stocks in the Rs 10,000-40,000 crore market capitalisation (mcap) bracket, according to a study by Nuvama Alternative & Quantitative Research. Aster and Aavas had corrected by 13 per cent and 10 per cent in March, respectively, while NLC India ended the month with a 2.5 per cent gain.
the largest transactions of the year include the merger of Quality Care India and Aster DM Healthcare valued at $5.08 billion, followed by Bharti Enterprises' acquisition of a 24.5 per cent stake in the BT Group at $4.08 billion, and a family settlement transaction in the Godrej family at $3.5 billion.
Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar on Sunday launched a road safety campaign saying that like batting in the middle, a partnership is needed between the vehicle drivers and pedestrians to make the dangerous Indian roads safer. "It is extremely sad, the amount of lives we are losing everyday to road fatalities. Discipline is very important if you have to make our roads. Like partnership is important between the batsman and non-striker, same way it is imperative for the vehicle drivers and pedestrians to collaborate to make roads safer," said Tendulkar at the launch of 'Aster SafeRoads i#Pledge' campaign in New Delhi.
The Kerala police on Thursday launched an investigation into an alleged social media campaign against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's Facebook post requesting help for the people affected by the landslides in Wayanad district. The campaign was aimed at motivating people to reject the CM's appeal for disaster relief, it said.
Four Indian Paralympics medal winners at the Rio Games last month -- Devendra Jhajharia, Mariyappan Thangavelu, Deepa Malik and Varun Singh Bhati -- were on Monday felicitated by a host of personalities, including cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your queries
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
Ajit Mishra, Vice President, Research, Religare Broking, answers readers' stock market queries. Ajit will offer his unbiased views on a weekly basis
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your stock market queries.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
Ajit Mishra, Vice President, Research, Religare Broking, answers readers's queries on stocks they own or want to buy.
