IHH Healthcare bets on Fortis stake for Indian expansion

It plans to add 2,000 hospital beds by 2028.

IHH Healthcare Berhad is using its bigger stake in Fortis Healthcare Ltd. to accelerate expansion in India, aiming to become one of the country’s top three private healthcare providers and achieve profit margins of about 25% in its local operations.

The Kuala Lumpur-based hospital group boosted its Fortis holdings through a mandatory tender offer in December 2025, raising its stake to 31.17% from 32.1% in Fortis Healthcare and to 62.73% from 26% in Fortis Malar Hospitals Ltd.

IHH, which has more than 5,000 beds across 35 hospitals in 11 Indian states, is the biggest shareholder in the publicly listed Indian company, giving it greater control over operations and growth plans.

“Our strategy is to progressively consolidate and increase our stake in Fortis as our platform for growth,” Ashok Pandit, IHH’s group chief corporate officer, told Healthcare Asia.

“Following the completion of the Fortis open offer, we expect margins to strengthen further, reaching market-average levels of around 25% for comparable assets,” he said in an emailed reply to questions.

India contributed $185.4m (RM723m) to IHH’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) in 2024, up from $153.8 (RM600m) the previous year.

Whilst smaller than markets such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Türkiye, India’s large population, rising incomes, expanding health insurance coverage, and low hospital bed availability make it a priority for IHH.

The company plans to add 2,000 hospital beds by 2028, focusing on both existing facilities nearing full capacity and projects in major and smaller cities, Pandit said.

Upcoming openings include a 200-bed hospital in Greater Noida and a 550-bed hospital in Lucknow under an agreement with Ekana Sportz City Pvt. Ltd.

IHH is also expanding digital initiatives, Pandit said. Fortis Healthcare is working with Virtuleap, Inc. to integrate virtual reality into cognitive therapy, whilst Gleneagles Hospital Chennai has partnered with Vellore Institute of Technology on AI-led neuroscience for epilepsy and neuro-oncology.

Meanwhile, Fortis Memorial Research Institute is piloting “FortisTR,” a patient-monitoring app using wearables to alert care teams in real time, he added.