Columbia Asia announces $150M expansion in Southeast Asia, India

The company currently has more than 8,000 employees serving more than 2 million patients a year in 26 hospitals and one clinic in Malaysia, India, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Columbia Asia opened four new hospitals just in the last few months – in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, in the Indonesian city of Semarang and in Bangalore and Ahmedabad, India.

In the next four years, the company will open eight more hospitals: three in Malaysia, three in India and two in Indonesia.

Columbia Asia’s strategy is to create clusters of hospitals in large urban areas.  This allows the group to achieve operational and brand leverage across the market in each large city.  Around the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, for example, the company currently has five hospitals, a sixth to open in 2016 and a seventh to open in 2017, the hospital said in a statement.

To manage the growth of Columbia Asia, John Northen was recently hired to serve as CEO of the 4-country hospital network.  Northen comes to Columbia Asia with several decades of experience in the hospitality industry, including six years as Vice President for Marriott International in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

“Since opening our first hospital in 1994, Columbia Asia has grown to become one of the most trusted names in healthcare across Asia,” said Northen, CEO of the Columbia Asia Group of Companies.

“No other healthcare provider in Asia has hospitals in as many countries operating under a single brand.  Our goal is to continue to ensure all patients leave our hospitals cared for medically as well as feeling satisfied, respected and comforted," he said.