WASHINGTON/TUNIS (CI Africa) – University of California San Diego Health and Medical School talks to open a medical center and teaching hospital in the West African nation of Senegal has triggered the interest of other healthcare providers such as Italy’s Gruppo San Donato and Tunisia’s Groupe Loukil. 

[Groupe Loukil Chief Executive Bassem Loukil speaks to Capitol Intelligence/CI Africa using CI Glass at cooperation signing agreement ceremony with Benin at FIPA Tunisia Investment Groupe Forum Tunis, Tunisia. November 9, 2017]

Informed sources told Capitol Intelligence that UC San Diego Health has already approached the newly formed U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) — formerly known as the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) — to provide project finance and political risk insurance to open the first US teaching hospital group in Africa.

DFC is now headed by former US healthcare CEO Adam Boehler and Boehler has placed a priority on exporting US medical and healthcare know-how to Africa and other developing markets.

UC San Diego CEO Patty Maysent and UC San Diego Health media relations failed to issue any comment to Capitol Intelligence when contacted by phone and email regarding UC San Diego plan to establish a hospital in Senegal.

It is understood that Tunis-based Groupe Loukil is open and interested in working with UC San Diego in any project they have in North and West Africa.  Groupe Loukil, owned and managed by US educated Bassem Loukil, has already built hospitals in Africa on a built, operate and transfer (BOT)  basis.

Loukil, who was has a BA and MBA from Georgia State University, has made Tunisia the true gateway to doing business in Africa by ferrying groups of Tunisian business leaders led by outgoing Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed across Africa through his Tunisia-Africa Business Council (TABC).

[Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed and US Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain filmed by Capitol Intelligence/CI Africa using CI Glass on The U.S.-Tunisia Strategic Partnership at The Heritage Foundation in Washington, DC. July 11, 2017]

Tunisia — the Arab world’s and Africa first representative democracy — is a surprisingly well advanced economy with dynamic private sector companies and a legal framework rivalling France and Italy in ease of doing business.

 

Another partner for UC San Diego, is Milan-based private sector teaching hospital and medical group Gruppo Ospedaliero San Donato run and owned by 30 years old Dr. Paolo Rotelli, MD and Lugano, Switzerland-based Swiss-Tunisian Kamel Ghribi.

GSD runs 3 research hospitals, 16 general hospitals, 7 outpatient clinics, 11 smart clinics led by Milan’s renowned San Raffaele research hospital. GSD in July 2019 signed a memorandum of understanding to build and operate a full-service medical center and teaching hospital in Gaborone, Botswana.

In fact, GSD’s Paolo Rotelli marked the signing of the MOU with Botswana Health Minister Alfred Madigele by hosting a high-level African healthcare summit with the highly-influential US Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on September 22, 2019 n New  York City.

At the high-level roundtable titled “Linking Health and Economic Growth in Africa, Rotelli and Kamel Ghribi hosted Uganda Health Minister Dr. Ruth Acheng, MD; Ghana Health Minister Hon. Kawku Agyeman-Manu and Mali Health Minister Michel Sidibe.  The event’s corporate sponsors were global drug companies Pfizer, Inc [NYSE: PFE] and GlaxoSmithKline [NYSE: GSK].

GSD’s Rotelli said the Italian hospital group is currently in talks with Mozambique, Saudi Arabia and Russia to set-up GSD affiliated hospitals and medical centers.

However, financial and legal sources in the healthcare sector have serious doubts whether GSD can be successful in low-income African countries when a major US hospital group such as Cleveland Clinic is finding it difficult to operate in the gulf state of the United Arab Emirates with the backing of SWF Mubadala.

“Healthcare is by far the hardest business to be in even in developed markets because of corruption and government control,” one banker said.  “In Africa or any other developing country the combination of government interference and low incomes makes it difficult, albeit, impossible to operate efficiently.”

Rotelli’s own Gruppo San Donato poses reputational risk problems for any US institution for Political Exposed Person (PEP)as a top GSD executive is former Italian Interior and Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano.

Also, UC Sam Diego Health legal counsel will be concerned over the Italian media coverage regarding the fraudulent bankruptcy of San Raffaele hospital that lead to the conviction and imprisonment of former Lombardy governor Roberto Formigoni.

Senegal, the banker said, poses a terrific risk as the country is notoriously corrupt below Minister level and there are not enough private individuals or medical tourism to sustain a Western-type cost structure full cost hospital in the country.

However, Tunisia has already developed into a center of excellence of medial tourism for the GCC, Africa and even Europe with first class private hospitals and medical personnel.

It is now common sight to see French, Spanish, Italian and British patients choosing Tunisian hospitals such as Tunis Polyclinique des Jasmin for urgent and elective medical procedures.

If UC San Diego Health decides to drop plans to establish a medical center in Senegal, the renowned Baltimore, Maryland-based Johns Hopkins University Hospital and Medical School could very well decide to establish a hospital and teaching hospital in Tunisia.

Like UC San Diego, Johns Hopkins Medicine were in advanced talks with OPIC to build a hospital and medical school in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia under the presidency of Barak Obama and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.

The JV between Johns Hopkins and Perdana University fell through after Johns Hopkins financial and legal advisors failed to provide OPIC with timely due diligence and financial documents,

While GSD may or may not be involved in UC San Diego Health or Johns Hopkins, it’s likely GSD’s  Rothschild & Co Italy CEO Alessandro Daffina and former Unicredit CEO and Rothschild Italy Chairman Federico Ghizzoni will be spearheading any US medical group expansion on the African continent.

[Former IMF Managing Director and Arjil & Associes Banques D’Affaires principal Dominque Strauss-Kahn speaks to Capitol Intelligence/CI MENA using CI Glass at Tunisian investment promotion event in Washington, DC. October 7, 2016.]

In fact, Rothschild has been on a shortlisted with Lazard to become the official M&A and investment bank for Tunisia before than Tunisian Investment Minister Yassine Brahim inexplicably awarded a a multi-million dollar contract to hire no-name Paris-based investment bank Arjil & Associes Banque D’Affaires and disgraced former International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn as Tunisia’s official investment bank.

The new OPIC, the U.S. DFC under Adam Boehler has been given direct orders from President Donald J. Trump that the new agency — with its over USD 60bn war chest – too co-invest and push private sector investments in all markets that are direct strategic interest to the United States ie Africa, Middle East (Iraq/Jordan) and Central Asia — so subsequent sustained economic growth and stability will allow US service members to come home after decades of war.

This is all part of the much welcomed America’s new “Business First” policy of the Trump White House.

By PK Semler in Washington, DC and Tunis, Tunisia

For more information please call +1-202-549-3399 or email pks@capitolintelgroup.com

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