UAE-based Aster DM Healthcare, a major private sector healthcare company, plans to invest USD 68.1 mn in new projects across the Gulf region, however, suspending entering the Egyptian market due to fears over the fluctuation of the EGP and “the ability to freely move foreign currency out of the country,” Reuters-affiliated website Zawya reports.

“Egypt is (a) country which has got a significant investment opportunity… ‘Why we haven’t gone there?’ It is mainly because of the currency fluctuation and (the issue of) taking money or bringing money out of the country,” Azad Moopen, the company’s chairman and managing director, was quoted as saying on January 28.

When asked if Aster intends to enter the Egyptian market in the next couple of years, Moopen stated that the company does not plan to “immediately” set foot into the country, according to Zawya. He confirmed that the firm will continue to seek “opportunities” in the north African country, but does not have any future plans for the market yet.

Currently, Aster runs a chain of hospitals, pharmacies, and health facilities in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, India, and the Philippines. Last year, the firm undertook an initial public offering (IPO) of its shares on the Indian stock exchanges, raising USD 153.34 mn.