ADC eyes to invest a third of its assets in medical sector, says CEO

Al Ahsa Development Co. (ADC) has adopted a new investment strategy, almost a year ago, that focuses on the medical sector, CNBC Arabia reported citing CEO Saad Amash Al Shammary.

The company plans to invest one third of its assets in the medical sector, he said, adding that that the strategy was developed following a thorough SWAT analysis of the market and the company’s abilities.

He also said that the firm has completed two acquisitions so far, noting that the regulatory approval to acquire Al Salam Medica Service Co. through right issue will be the third acquisition since the firm started grabbing opportunities in the medical sector.

He stressed that these efforts will help the firm become one of the key players in the medical sector, through increasing its hospital beds capacity to 2000 beds from the current 750 beds.

Al Shammary also said that the company focus on fully acquiring or acquiring controlling stakes to create a network of investments in the medical sector so it can post better profits.

He also said that the financial situation of the firm is stable with limited debts, adding that the company may opt for loans or issue shares for acquisition.

Furthermore, Al Ahsa has real estate assets along with assets in the stock market, which could be liquidated if needed for medical-related investments, as the firm wants one third of its assets in the medical sector in the future, and won’t exit operating and profitable assets.

Commenting on the firm financial results, he said that higher profits were backed by growth of Al Ahsa Medical Co. along with other defaulted investments that turned into profitability by end 2017, and lower Zakat costs.

Earlier last week, The Saudi Capital Market Authority (CMA) announced approving Al-Ahsa Development Company’s request to increase its capital from SAR 490 million to SAR 737.32 million. The capital hike will be carried out by issuing about 24.7 million ordinary shares to acquire all the shares of Al-Salam Medical Services Company.