Kochi: Delegates at ‘Manorama Sampadyam Kerala Business Summit-2025’ on Thursday listened to several success stories, including that of Aster DM Healthcare, which expanded from a clinic to a hospital group with a turnover of Rs 26,000 crore.

Aster’s journey was explained by its director, Anoop Moopen, who recalled that its first clinic was set up by Dr Azad Moopen in UAE in 1987. From that humble beginning, Aster has currently expanded to 10,000 beds in various locations. There are 34 hospitals, 133 clinics, 519 pharmacies and 219 laboratories under the group. Around 5,000 doctors and 35,000 other professionals work for Aster.

Anoop said that Dr Moopen had displayed an entrepreneurial spirit since his school days. “Dr Moopen’s philosophy is that there has to be a goal to start a venture. It should also earn profits. However, the main goal should not be profits, but the output,” he said.

Dr Moopen required a large investment to start the Aster Hospital in Kozhikode. Any venture can take off only with good partners, and Dr Moopen could attract reliable investors, and there was no looking back for the group, said Anoop. The group’s hospital project in Kochi also faced several hurdles, but all of them were overcome, he said.

“A major challenge for the group was to bring back the best doctors and other medical professionals who preferred to leave Kerala and work elsewhere,” said Anoop.

The group began to expand outside the state to serve more people. It was apprehensive about starting a hospital in Bengaluru, where major players in the healthcare sector were already present. However, Aster has three hospitals in Karnataka's capital now.

The next stage in Aster’s growth involved growth by takeovers. By taking this route in Hyderabad, Aster could become a 5,000-bed group.

After takeovers, Aster resorted to mergers to increase its size. Following a merger with Blackstone, a group owning several hospitals, Aster crossed the 10,000-bed mark. While it took 38 years for the group to reach 5,000 beds, the number touched 10,000 in a mere one year.

Anoop felt that every business should plan for large-scale expansion. “Even though IPO listing earns many benefits to companies, very few firms in Kerala have resorted to it,” he said.

The second edition of the Manorama Sampadyam Kerala Business Summit held at Grand Hyatt, Kochi, was inaugurated by former Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

Programmes at the summit include panel discussions and presentations by leaders in the business sector. Experts in tourism, health and sports are part of the discussion panels. 

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