Emerging Multinationals: The South African Hospital Industry Overseas

The opening of the economy to trade and investment is affecting health systems worldwide. Multinational Companies (MNCs) operating in the hospital sector are gaining momentum and, as this paper reveals, they are not primarily from developed countries. Through a case-study of three South African private hospital groups, the focus is on an understanding of how healthcare services MNCs from an emerging economy, South Africa, has internationalised and how this may impact the home country.

Two groups have entered the UK market by winning NHS contracts to deliver public services. One of these is now the largest private hospital operator in the UK. One group has established a presence in the United Arab Emirates (Dubai) and expert to become the largest private hospital operator in Dubai. The same group recently acquired the largest private hospital group in Switzerland.

The case of the South African hospital industry shows that globalisation presents opportunities for developing country firms that are beyond low-value production and extends to high-value service provision, such as health services.
However, the ability to compete globally seems to rely on a set of competitive advantages which are developed in a "protected" and concentrated market. In the case of the hospital industry, this implies that success in the global market is associated with having a large and dominating private healthcare sector at home.