Healthcare systems and facilities continue to improve across the region with investors and operators introducing new trends and standards to improve and enhance healthcare sector in the region. In Saudi Arabia, the healthcare market is growing thanks to the convergence of three factors; demand from a growing population base, an increasing elderly population and the rapid growth of the private insurance healthcare market, said Colliers International, The Global Commercial Real Estate Leader, in its latest white paper focusing on the opportunities for Healthcare REITS in Saudi Arabia. While viewed externally, the private healthcare sector offers lucrative opportunities. It also faces significant challenges — high capital entry cost, attracting and retaining quality medical staff and funding constraints for new entrants. Additionally, one of the biggest factors hindering the growth is availability of funds for capital expenditure mainly for the construction of hospitals. The opportunity therefore lies within unlocking existing value within the sector to support expansion programs or as alternative funding sources for new developments. The REIT funds in the Kingdom can unlock current SR28 billion to SR32 billion property value from the private sector. Furthermore, REITs can play a role in growth of the healthcare market by providing much needed capital investment which is in the range of SR2.7 million to SR8.5 billion to fund new hospitals by 2025. — SG
