UAE-based Indian billionaire B.R. Shetty: The man who built the NMC empire

HUMBLE START: With just eight dollars (Dh29) in his pocket, a dream to succeed and his mother’s blessings, Dr. B.R. Shetty first set foot in Abu Dhabi on May 3, 1973.

THROWBACK: Here is a little throwback to B.R. Shetty, who pioneered private healthcare in the UAE. His first day in the UAE, however, was not without some major snags. His luggage was lost in transit. So, the first thing he did after leaving the airport was go shop for clothes and personal items," Shetty said in an interview to Gulf News. He checked into his accommodation when it finally dawned on him, he was in a foreign land.

LAB WORK: Dr. B.R. Shetty in a laboratory at the first NMC. Within a year of coming to the UAE, in 1974, Dr. Shetty was itching to do more in the country. “'What’s next?' was the big question looming in my head. Around the time, I came across articles in newspapers where the late Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan was advocating a need for quality healthcare at affordable rates in the capital. With his vision in mind, I decided to start New Medical Centre (NMC) in 1975," said Dr Shetty told Gulf News in an earlier interview. “I took a floor on lease in a building on Hamdan Street. I lived two floors below in a one-bedroom apartment. My wife, Dr. Chandrakumari Raghuram Shetty, was the first doctor to be hired in the hospital. We had three patients on the first day we opened the clinic,” said Dr. Shetty.

GOAL-ORIENTED: In this file picture, former Gulf News sports editor Suresh Menon and Dr B.R.Shetty of NMC at the release of 'Sachin' magazine. Dr. Shetty in an earlier interview with Gulf News said he did not let this shaky start discourage him from pursuing his goal of making a living in the UAE. He said: “I could not afford to let that die. There was a loan my family had taken in India and I came here to help them repay it. The plan was to settle the loan and return home. As time would tell, that never happened and my world changed magically.”

NET WORTH: In August 2018, Forbes set B.R. Shetty's personal net worth at a whopping $4.2 billion. The multi-billionaire non-resident Indian (NRI) has dedicated a large part of his life building an empire of healthcare facilities and other companies in the country.

LIFETIME AWARD: Indian Minister of State, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and Ministry of Youth affairs and Sports, Colonel Rajyavardhan Rathore, founder and editor-in-chief of Republic TV, Arnab Goswami presented the Lifetime award to industry icon, Dr BR Shetty. On Tuesday, February 11, NMC Health continues to keep its shareholders on edge with doubts now forming over promoters’ actual controlling stakes. And then came the revelation about potential bids for the UAE’s most profitable hospital operator, with one offer reportedly in the range of 2 billion pounds.

Dr B.R. Shetty arrives to attend a special event in Dubai.

TAKEOVER INTEREST: On Tuesday, February 11, analysts at Align Research, who has an exposure in NMC, said it was not surprising the UAE-based firm - which was worth about 8.5 billion pounds at the share price peak in 2018 - has drawn takeover interest now that it’s capitalized at just 1.6 billion pounds.

'THEY STARTED COMING BACK TO US': Dr B.R. Shetty with Indian ad and film director VA Shrikumar Menon and Indian actor Mohanlal. Starting out NMC, he recalls: “Medical services in government hospitals were free back then. And here I was charging people a fee. Naturally, this did not go down well with some people. But when they saw the quality of service delivered, they started coming back to us,” said Dr. B. R. Shetty in an interview with Gulf News. From treating three patients in 1975 to 8.5 million a year now, NMC is by far the biggest healthcare provider in the UAE by market value.

REMOVED FROM BOARD DISCUSSIONS: On Monday, February 11, NMC Health Plc, operator of the biggest network of hospitals in the UAE, said that its chairman, Dr. B.R. Shetty, will be removed from board discussions after he said he may have misreported the size of his stake. DR. Shetty is conducting a legal review into the size of his stake, NMC said Monday. The company is asking its main shareholders for clarity on whether they have pledged any of their holdings as collateral.

SUCCESS IN THE DESERT: Dr. B.R. Shetty, 76, with his Moris Minor 1000. After tasting success with NMC, Dr. Shetty said he was itching for more. The pharma industry was almost a natural choice, considering his background. And so in 2003, Dr Shetty launched Abu Dhabi’s first manufacturing unit – Neopharma. “At first people laughed at the idea that I wanted to start a pharma venture in the middle of a desert. Nobody was willing to lend me money to set up the company. But having a good connection with people always helps. I had an old friend, Mr. PA Shenoy, who worked in Bank of Baroda. He called a senior official working in the bank to approve my loan request. I needed Dh80 million and the loan was granted in two weeks.”

PHILANTHROPY: Dr. B.R. Shetty, Chairman & CEO of NMC Health Care, UAE Exchange & Travelex, with Ahmed Al Sayegh, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Global Market. Dr. Shetty is engaged in numerous philanthropic work. He and his wife Chandrakumari recently joined the initiative created by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett, pledging to commit more than half of their wealth to charitable causes. As part of this, he recently launched the Dr. BR and CR Shetty Foundation in Bengaluru, India to provide education, better health, alleviate poverty in the state of Karnataka. “My mission now is to serve the community. The community has done much for me. It is time to give back,” said Dr Shetty, who is also Chairman of Indian Business Professional Group, Abu Dhabi (IBPG). To people around him, Dr Shetty is deemed as an epitome of generosity. He supports a number of medical facilities around the world, including the Special Care Centre in Abu Dhabi, the Cancer Foundation run by Pakistani PM Imran Khan among others.