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Saudi NTP announces healthcare investment opportunities

Saudi NTP announces healthcare investment opportunities
The plan will help the Saudi government reduce the current spending on healthcare

Riyadh – Mubasher: Saudi Arabia’s National Transformation Programme 2020 (NTP) will increase the contribution of the Saudi private sector spending in healthcare to 35% from 25% by 2020, according to a new report released by JLL.

The plan will help the Saudi government reduce its current healthcare spending, which represents 7% of the total budget worth more than SAR 60 billion as of 2016, as well as respond to the ageing population and increased demands for hospitals and other healthcare facilities.

“The vision represents a structural shift in the Saudi healthcare sector, creating major new opportunities for private sector development,” said Ibrahim Albuloushi, Country Head of KSA at JLL.

As part of this initiative the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) announced it would allow foreign investors 100% ownership of healthcare companies in August 2017.

Moreover, the Saudi government announced plans to privatise a number of state-run hospitals and healthcare centres and called for bids to provide financial advice to privatise 55 primary health centres in Riyadh.

On the other hand, the NTP aims to increase the number of Saudi physicians enrolled in training programmes to 4,000 from 2,200 and the number of nurses and support staff from 70 per 100,000 people to 150 by 2020, to meet the current shortage of qualified Saudi healthcare professionals.