Shetty close to raising target capital for hospital

| 19/07/2011

(CNS): According to the India based Business Standard, Dr Devi Shetty, the man who is promising to kickstart medical tourism in the Cayman Islands, is close to raising some US$65 milllion (Rs300 crore) for the first phase of his health city which he plans to develop on Grand Cayman. Narayana Hrudayalaya, the organisation which Shetty chairs, is, according to the specialist doctor, raising the funds through a mix of debt and equity. Shetty has said that the group is in talks with a couple of US-based strategic players to invest in the project and a financial investor will pick up equity besides raising debt.

If the efforts to raise the targeted funding are successful it will be the second largest fund raising which the hospital chain has completed. In 2007 it raised $100 million from J P Morgan and AIG.

Shetty signed an MOU with the Cayman government in April 2010 for 12 months, which was recently extended. Since then the government has changed the health practitioners law and introduced a cap on non-economic damages in connection with medical negligence in order to facilitate the recruitment of medical staff from all over the world and to allow the staff to gain affordable medical practice insurance.

However, so far Shetty and his local partners have not yet revealed where the first phase of the project, which is a 250-300 bed hospital, will be located.

Shetty told the Indian media that the project was now progressing after what he described as initial hiccups, “All issues are close to being settled and we are progressing on the project,” he said.

The hospital chain has become famous worldwide for its low cost cardiac surgery and Shetty plans to create a medical facility in Cayman catering to the US market in four phases. Spread across ten acres somewhere in the eastern districts, the hospital will eventually reach around 2,000 beds cover a range of specialities, a medical university and an assisted living facility. In the first phase, the hospital will cater to heart, cancer, ortho and gastrointestinal surgery.

“Cayman Islands is an hour flight from the US and we intend to offer cost-effective treatment for the citizens of the US and also who are under-insured. We will also cater to the local population,” Shetty added.

Shetty also told the Business Standard that he is working to acquire a hospital in Malaysia.

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  1. Anonymous says:

    How many Cayman crabs can you fit in a bucket?

  2. SHETTY SUPPORTER says:

    Hopefully the day won't arrive for any of us but judging by the statsitics, chances are that it will….when we urgently need to have heart surgery in order that we can live to resume our annonymous blogs. 

    On that very day, may you live to give thanks to Dr. Shetty.

    Truly, he is the one living man amongst all of the men that I have ever met, that has stood out as a supremely caring man, who cares not for the acumulation of personal wealth but lives to improve the health of those who are less fortunate.  He deserves the greatest degree of respect and our collective support. We are indeed most fortunate that he might build a hospital here.    

  3. Anonymous says:

    MOU should be cancelled !

    I wonder why the Dictator has not cancelled the Shetty MOU for the same reasons he cancelled the GLF MOU. Sounds like the Shetty MOU has an indefinite term and does not have to provide evidence and proof that it has sufficient funding.

    Different rules for different folks – discrimination and prejudicial Government under the UDP with no such thing as a level playing field.

  4. Anonymous says:

    PURE fart! the MOU does not require Shetty to pay a dime or do anything except wait for Government to roll out all the concessions on utilities, Cayman airways, work permit discounts, stamp duty waivers, planning permission …and on and on!

    • Anonymous says:

      Exactly!  The government are so desperate to get something (anything) going they'll concede to anything.  They've written- off most of the benefits of this project in advance in concessions.  That's what you get when you use "granny wits" to put together an MOU!

  5. Anonymous says:

    Unbelievable comments except one. Why is it a bad thing that he's just about finalized his (not yours or Cayman's) financing for the project? After the earlier article everyone was up in arms that he wouldn't say which piece of land he was looking at. Sheesh, sometimes it's hard to understand why anyone would put up with you folks.

  6. B.B.L. Brown says:

    I don't see this operation helping the Cayman people at all.  Sure, a few people will find menial jobs (if it ever gets built) but very little of the gravy will ever be seen by you and I.

    • Anonymous says:

      It will encourage some people to go into nursing and other tech jobs.  The visiting patient will bring money into your economy coming early for testing and prep.  Then a short stay.  and most pt's bring family.  Mostly one but occais many.  Again more food and lodging and car rental.  For the most part I would consider this a win/win proposition. 

  7. Knot S Smart says:

    Mr. Shetty, I am willing to lend you the $65 million start-up money but first I would need to see that you have a feasible economic plan.

    Please answer these three short-form questions first:

    1. Assuming that target market is North American patients. What makes you think they will travel hundreds or thousands of miles from their homes to be operated on in a small, crime ridden, expensive country, by doctors that are culturally different from themselves?

    2.  Do you really believe that  American insurance companies will send their clients (against their will) overseas for medical treatment available at home? Would the insurance companies not be exposed to further liability if something goes wrong?

    3.  Since these types of referrals are done by U.S. based doctors who make say $200,000 from these operations – do you think these doctors would instead say 'let us not make any money on this, we are rich enough already – instead lets send the patient to the Cayman Islands'?

    If you answer these questions to my satisfaction then I will give you the 'long-form' question list.

    Hoping I can help you with your financing needs.

    Sincerely,

    Knot So Smart

     

    • Anonymous says:

      don't ask awkward questions!!!

    • Anonymous says:

      American insurance companies…would sell their own mothers to save a greenback.

      they can foot the entire bill including air fare, hotel, food and transportation and still come out smelling like a rose.  What about some countries where there is a waiting list for bypass and valve repair.  I work in a hospital in the US  and recently we had a family fly in for medical care from Turkey.  Most of our rooms are $1000 a day minimal care.

      I still think it will be a great boost for the CI. 

  8. Anonymous says:

    What double standards!  GLF gets the boot for allegedly not having the funds to complete the GT port project  (even though they're likely to prove in court  they did have the money) and Shetty admits — after at least 1.5 years — he doesn't  have the financing and the government doesn't show him the door??? 

  9. anon says:

    Does anyone know who the Local Partners are?

  10. T.L. Haranguer says:

    Is Roy going to do a little course at ICCI in Hindi too ? 

    • Anonymous says:

      You and your negative thumbers are sick. shouldnt you be encouranging your Caymanian people to start educating, training and preparing themselves for this medical Industry?

      Instead of making fun of Roy…pick up the phone …call him to suggest that he introduce what ever courses needed, that will cater to this medical instituation.

      If you love your people, then lets start to build them up, by educating them, and stop brain washing them, by telling them they wont be getting  a job at the Shetty"s medical centre.

      Education education education education, it is the road to success…but of course, we never want that for our people.

       

  11. Anonymous says:

    He doesn't have the money yet???

    Hope he doesn't expect Caymanians to pay for it.

  12. UDP'r from the Brac says:

    A new government legacy, I say.  The Beginning of Medical Tourism in the Cayman Islands. We all should be proud, because this will set the stage for a new arm of revenue other than plain tourism. I believe it will create great opportunities for locals in the medical field. Well done Mark.

    • Anonymous says:

      You mean great job opportunities for the Indians Shetty already has lined up. We all know that’s his intentions. How can we be so gullible AGAIN. Remember all those empty promises of job opportunities for Camanians. My back foot. No matter how qualified Caymanian may be the expats happen to be more qualified because there not from here. I sad how hard it is for Caymanians to get a job in there own country yet there are expats coming in each week to occupy the few available jobs.

      • Anonymous says:

        If Shetty follows his present training model, his modus operandi is in keeping costs -including salaries- low. He takes recent graduates and teaches them one job to do well – like how to read x-rays – and that's what they do all the time. His nurses are on 8 hr. shifts. There are no chairs as nurses not allowed to sit; they have to be at bedsides all the time. He encourages a high staff turnover at the support level in order not to have to pay higher salaries.

        So Caymanians may very well have a chance of employment and training, but they won't be encouraged to stay on once they expect promotions and higher salaries. That is not in the business model.

    • Anonymous says:

      anon 10:03

      Thanks for a nice statement..much  thanks to you Mark..job well done, man with a vision, and foresight.

      Dont worry about the thumb down Mark, these people are just plain opposers

  13. Dred says:

    Actually this is not so unusual. This is a huge amount of capital outlay and businesses hardly ever have that kind of assets set aside in cash or liquid assets.

    Generally when you see buyouts of large companies you see share and cash swaps. The same can be for start ups. Generally they get venture capital to help fund the venture.

    If they are financially sound which I understand them to be this is not a major stumbling block but it does take a little time to iron out.

    • Anonymous says:

      anon 09:53

      Smart and educated… i can tell, thanks for the Information.

  14. Anonymous says:

    Maybe CHEC could build it for him. The Premier could get one of his supporters to do the introduction. Afterall, someone should get a finder's fee for raising $65 million.

  15. Anonymous says:

    funding issues at this stage?…… how come we never heard of this before?

    • Anonymous says:

      Wasn't that supposedly why the previous port developer was shown the door?

       

      • Anonymous says:

        You seriously think someone has a spare 65 million just sitting in an account? Of course they need to raise capital and the closer they do it to the launch date the more enticing it is for investors. I wouldn't hand over 30 million for a project thatwas going to start for a couple of years….would you?

        • Anonymous says:

          i wouldn't hand over $30m for anything to do with the cayman islands….

      • Anonymous says:

        You can't compare the two this is a private venture….

    • Anonymous says:

      Basically becuase it's none of your business…..

    • Anonymous says:

      09:10

      ummm ..that is not true, lets go back to the year 2001, the developer of Ritz Carlton,  started the project, in the sense of selling many units, had no money to further the construction… was it the Bankof Scotland gave the money.

      You got many things to learn my friend. 

      • Anonymous says:

        lets no go there ,the developer have not made any effort to pay gov't the $6m it owes from back then it was reported in 2009 ,at least I hav,nt read or heard if he have,has any one?

    • Anonymous says:

      Probably Mac promised to assist in the funding then realized Cayman is broke from his travelling, so Dr Shetty had to go find some other money.