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Web Release
2 days ago
- Health
- Web Release
Burjeel Holdings' JV Alkalma Launches Regional Mental Health Platform with Four Premier Centers in the UAE and Saudi Arabia
In a strategic move to enhance access to mental health services across the region, Burjeel Holdings, a leading super-specialty healthcare services provider in MENA, has launched four specialist mental health centers under its mental health and wellbeing platform, Alkalma, through the integration of Aspris Healthcare facilities. The centers, located in Dubai's City Walk and Dubai Healthcare City, Abu Dhabi's Al Bateen, and Riyadh's King Abdullah Financial District, are recognized for delivering personalized, adaptable mental healthcare across a wide spectrum of psychological needs. These newly integrated centers deliver personalized care through a range of therapy formats, including individual, group, and family sessions, now aligned with Alkalma's mission to build a value-driven mental healthcare ecosystem rooted in prevention, accessibility, and overall wellbeing. Together, the four centers offer a combined annual capacity of approximately 90,000 consultations. Although mental health conditions affect up to one in five individuals annually, they account for less than 5% of total health spending across the region. This underinvestment is compounded by a persistent shortage of clinical professionals and limited access to integrated networks, highlighting a critical gap that Alkalma is designed to address. This launch marks the first phase of a multi-year expansion strategy. By establishing a presence in major urban markets and aligning operations with Keralty's globally validated, value-based care models, Alkalma is laying the foundation for a scalable platform positioned to meet rising demand and deliver measurable health and economic outcomes. John Sunil, Chief Executive Officer of Burjeel Holdings, said: 'Integrating these centers into our ecosystem marks a pivotal step in realizing our vision for a regional mental health platform rooted in Alkalma's values of clinical excellence and inclusivity. It enables us to expand access to high-quality care while accelerating the delivery of outcomes that matter to patients and health systems alike.' Alkalma was launched as a strategic joint venture between Burjeel Holdings and Colombia-based healthcare leader Keralty, a global organization with nearly five decades of experience in value-based care. As a founding partner, Keralty brings deep expertise in delivering integrated mental health and primary care services across nine countries, including the U.S., supporting over 500,000 individuals globally in behavioral health. Dr. Emilio Herrera, CEO of Alkalma, said: 'At Alkalma, we believe a healthcare system is defined by how it supports those most in need. There is no health without mental health. Establishing our presence in the UAE and Saudi Arabia reflects our commitment to advancing national priorities and bringing the best scientific evidence, the highest quality of care, to serve the community. This is only the beginning.' Shorooq, a leading regional investment manager, facilitated the strategic integration of Aspris Healthcare facilities. Mahmoud Adi, Founding Partner at Shorooq, said: 'We are proud to see these facilities become foundational to a regionally integrated mental health ecosystem. We believe private equity can be a transformative force in sectors that touch people's lives.' In the coming months, Alkalma will fully integrate these centers under a unified brand, expand clinical capacity, and launch a digital mental-health platform to reach under-served populations. Further centers in new communities across the UAE and Saudi Arabia are under review as part of the JV's regional scale-up plan. Alkalma is positioned to play a defining role in shaping the region's next-generation mental health ecosystem, delivering value across patients, systems and stakeholders.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Apartment developers gear up for tariffs
This story was originally published on Multifamily Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Multifamily Dive newsletter. As executives at Houston-based Camden Property Trust underwrite their apartment developments with tariffs on the horizon, they're only figuring in a 2% to 3% increase in construction costs. With the ever-changing threat of tariffs from President Donald Trump, that number may appear suspiciously low. But it's not a mistake, according to Camden CEO Ric Campo. 'The reason it's not more is that we've been to this movie before,' Campo said on the REIT's first-quarter earnings call last month. 'Under the [Trump] administration 1.0, there were tariffs and there were issues, and COVID created a lot of interesting supply chain issues, as we all know.' That tariff and pandemic experience created a practice run for apartment developers, setting them up to meet 2025's challenges. 'What a lot of folks have done, including the apartment industry and construction industry, is we have tried to get our supply chain closer to our projects, and a lot of effort has gone into getting supply chains that are not as vulnerable as Asian supply chains,' Campo said. Though those experiences have helped apartment developers plan for tariffs 2.0, there are still challenges this time around. There is a universal 10% tariff on all imports this time, and uncertainty lingers, with the timing and scale of Trump's levies remaining a moving target. Then there's the issue of legality. With the U.S. Court of International Trade striking down April's 'Liberation Day' tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China last week, questions linger about whether the trade war will end before shots are really even fired. A day later, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit stayed that ruling. But even with the ground shifting beneath them, apartment developers have to plan for the worst, which includes high prices and potential shortages for the materials and products they need to complete their projects. Here is how they're preparing. Count Rene Bello, founder and CEO of Miami-based real estate investment and development firm BLDG Ventures, among those dusting off his playbook from the first Trump administration. 'Because we have had experience with this before, we're looking at retooling on some of the strategies we use,' Bello told Multifamily Dive. For Bello, preparing ahead means cutting out the middleman for price-sensitive materials. He went directly to vendors to order 75,000 square feet of flooring for an entire building, for example, six to 10 months ahead of time. 'We can buy in large quantities, well in advance,' he said. In other cases, Bello is flying to other countries to line up materials. During the winter, he met with his Colombia-based glazing manufacturer. 'We knew that we need to get ahead of that, and then we just had a very clear and honest conversation with our contractors and our suppliers about how can we effectively get on their books well in advance rather than waiting six to nine months down the pipeline and then having to absorb the full run on these tariffs,' Bello said. Bello isn't the only executive buying more than he currently needs before he needs it. Cameron Gunter, co-CEO of PEG, a Provo, Utah-based owner, operator and developer of multifamily, hospitality and build-to-rent properties, has two multifamily projects currently in development, with one in Tucson, Arizona, slated to open later this year. 'We bought a bunch of our cabinets out of China,' Gunter told Multifamily Dive. 'So we took our first shipment as we started to see this issue on tariffs. We haven't installed it, but it's all stored on property.' With Trump's May 90-day pause on Chinese tariffs to allow for time to negotiate with different countries, Gunter expects to get his second shipment before the levies kick in. 'We'll be able to get those here in the next 90 days,' he said in May. Bello isn't just ordering ahead to try to beat tariffs. He's putting his projects through a value-engineering process to avoid countries with the highest tariffs. 'We're not buying things from the Asian markets,' Bello said. 'We should see a higher pricing and tariff on those materials coming from those parts of the globe.' But so far, the cost increases haven't hit all products in the same way. 'We're seeing, on average, between 3% and 5% increases for trades like glazing, electrical [and] raw materials,' Bello said. 'With fixtures and lighting, you'll definitely see an increase between 10% and 20%. We're also seeing lead times extended.' Bello is also opening the door to American-made products, like paints and bath fixtures. In May, he was on a call with an architect deciding between two options for toilets — German-made Toto and American Standard made in the U.S. The choice was easy, even if it wasn't what he wanted. 'As much as I'd love to put in a beautiful Toto bath fixture, we said, 'Look, American Standard is American made,'' Bello said. 'We know that there won't be any tariffs implemented on those American-made fixtures. So we'll go in that direction.' PEG also builds hotels, which require it to purchase furniture, fixtures and equipment. With many of those products, the firm is sourcing from new countries. 'We shifted from China to Vietnam or Taiwan,' Gunter said. But Gunter said there are limits, specifically related to costs, to buying what is produced in America. 'We're finding some ways around it,' Gunter said. 'I don't think the answer is sourcing stuff out of the U.S., unless rents really climb or AI takes [manufacturing] jobs because it's just tough [to make the numbers work].' With about 4,500 units in annual starts, Tysons Corner, Virginia-based owner, manager and developer Middleburg Communities can lock in purchasing agreements with suppliers and vendors. So far, CEO Chris Finlay, who has seen tariffs push up costs roughly 3%, said his subcontractors are basically eating the costs of the increases as construction starts have fallen. 'Work is just more scarce now,' Finlay told Multifamily Dive. 'If you're a subcontractor, you're trying to win the business. Taking some tariff risk to win the deal is what I think a lot of people are doing.' For PEG's Gunter, the goal is to share the burden of price hikes. 'I can create contingencies where they have it as part of their [guaranteed maximum price] and we use that contingency to cover any tariffs based on the general contractor piece,' he said. 'If it goes over that, there's a responsibility. If it comes under that, there's a shared savings clause.' Still, Gunter said there are some questions about whether general contractors are willing to take those risks going forward, even if work is more scarce. However, even if subs are reluctant to eat the additional tariffs, general savings in labor prices may help developers offset the additional burden of tariffs. On AvalonBay Communities' first-quarter earnings call last month, Chief Investment Officer Matthew Birenbaum said materials costs are generally 25% to 30% of the Arlington, Virginia-based REIT's overall hard costs and 20% of total project costs. While tariffs could push overall costs by 3% to 4%, a reduction in labor prices could offset some of that. 'On those jobs we are actively bidding today, our phones are ringing off the hook with deeper bid coverage and stronger subcontractor availability than we have seen in years,' Birenbaum said. Brad Hill, CEO of Memphis-based REIT MAA, said his development team is getting the same calls. 'Given the reduction in the new starts and the supply pipeline, we're getting better pricing at the moment from many of our GCs and development partners,' he said on the REIT's first-quarter earnings call last month. 'Margins are tightening up a bit, and they're getting a little bit hungrier for new starts.'
The Hindu
28-05-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Brazil's Azul to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection: report
Brazilian airline Azul is set to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States as soon as Tuesday (May 28, 2025), newspaper Valor Economico reported, citing sources. The move would make the carrier the latest in a series of Latin American airlines to file for bankruptcy in the aftermath of the depression the industry suffered in the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Azul's move would follow in the footsteps of Aeromexico, Colombia-based Avianca and its two largest rivals, Gol and LATAM Airlines, all of which succumbed to bankruptcy proceedings in recent years. Azul last year struck a deal with lessors to scrap $550 million in debt in exchange for an equity stake of around 20%, as well as one with bondholders to raise additional financing, but its balance sheet remained severely pressured. Azul's net debt soared 50% year-on-year by the end of the first quarter to 31.35 billion reais ($5.56 billion), with its leverage ratio hitting 5.2, up from 3.7 a year earlier.
New Straits Times
26-05-2025
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Palmero set to be a Harimau, but Holgado's status unclear
KUALA LUMPUR: The one from Spain has come, but national football team coach Peter Cklamovski is not sure about the one from Colombia. So, Gabriel Palmero is already here, but a question mark hangs over Rodrigo Holgado. There have been reports about Malaysia getting two more naturalised players before their 2027 Asian Cup qualifier against Vietnam on June 10. The national team, who are now in their second phase of centralised training, will play two international friendlies against Cape Verde at KLFA Stadium on Thursday and on June 3 at the National Stadium. "Gabriel has come in good condition from Europe. He's proud to represent Malaysia," he said. "He's looking sharp, adapting from his long flight, and wants to make Malaysians proud." However, the status of Colombia-based striker Holgado remains uncertain. While the 29-year-old has reportedly received a call-up, his documentation is still being finalised. Holgado, who plays for America de Cali and has scored seven goals this season, is expected to bolster Malaysia's attacking firepower if things go to plan. When asked about Holgado, Cklamovski said: "Not sure."
New Straits Times
21-05-2025
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Holgado could be Harimau Malaya's secret weapon, says critic
KUALA LUMPUR: The potential inclusion of Colombia-based striker Rodrigo Holgado in the national team could be a game-changer for Harimau Malaya in their Asian Cup qualifier against Vietnam in Bukit Jalil on June 10. Malaysia has lacked a reliable goalscorer in recent years and has often had to rely on naturalised midfielders such as Paulo Josue, Sergio Aguero and Romel Morales, who have been converted into strikers. Brazil-born Josue has scored eight goals in 25 matches since 2023, Argentina-born Aguero has netted three in 17 matches since 2022, while Colombia-born Morales has two goals from nine appearances since making his debut this year. Holgado, 29, boasts a solid track record with América de Cali, having scored 17 goals in 44 appearances since joining the Colombian side in 2024, credentials that could make him a perfect fit for Malaysia. Football critic Dr Zulakbal Abdul Karim believes the national team must do everything necessary to secure qualification for the Asian Cup, including strengthening its forward line. "I've read about this new candidate (Holgado) for the national team. I'm not sure if it's confirmed that he'll play for Malaysia, but it seems the team management is working hard to bolster the squad for the Asian Cup qualifiers," said Zulakbal. "We still don't have a credible natural striker. We've had to convert midfielders to lead the attack but I still feel we need an out-and-out striker. "We have to qualify for the Asian Cup and I can see the management is leaving no stone unturned to make it happen. "For me, it's an acceptable move. We must qualify at any cost. Our football is not perfect but the priority now is qualification." Zulakbal, who holds an AFC Professional Coaching Diploma, added that integrating Holgado into the squad quickly and effectively will be crucial. And if everything falls into place, the Argentina-born forward could be Malaysia's secret weapon against Vietnam. "He's based in Colombia, so there's the challenge of a long flight, adapting to the team, the weather, football culture and the national training system — it won't be easy," said Zulakbal. "Now it's up to the national team management to speed up his acclimatisation. I believe we have the right experts to help him settle in smoothly. "If everything goes well, we might have a surprise package in Holgado. Vietnam probably doesn't know much about him."
