GE to integrate healthcare units in India with Wipro JV

Global conglomerate GE on Friday said all its standalone healthcare business units in India will be merged into its joint venture with Indian IT giant Wipro to "accelerate growth" in the country as well as South Asia.

GE holds 51 per cent stake and the rest is with Wipro in their joint venture, Wipro GE Healthcare, which distributes 85 per cent of GE's various healthcare and medical diagnostic products in India.

"The integration will simplify the structure and help us focus on the Indian market. It will help us in developing new products for India and in entering more markets," GE Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey R Immelt said here.

Wipro GE Healthcare will now incorporate units like GE Healthcare Life Sciences, GE Healthcare Medical Diagnostics and GE Medical Systems India.

Immelt said about 20 per cent of the products sold in India are manufactured here and in future the company wants to increase the percentage.

"My view is that over the next 5-10 years, maybe 50-70 per cent of the products sold in India should be developed and manufactured here and some of them eventually would be exported as well," he said.

While the Life Sciences and Medical Diagnostics business units currently distribute GE Healthcare's products outside of Wipro GE Healthcare, GE Medical Systems India manufactures X- ray machines and other diagnostic imaging products and accessories.

On the timeline for completion of the integration, Wipro GE Healthcare President and CEO V Raja said, "It will all depend on courts' approval, in my own assessment it could take anywhere between 6 months to a year, depending on how fast you get the necessary approvals." As part of the integration, about 1,200 employees from GE various healthcare units would be moved into the JV firm, which already has a headcount of 800.

Raja said going forward the JV would continue to add about 200 people annually, which is its average hiring rate.

"There is a huge potential in the Indian medical devices market which is worth about USD three billion and is growing at 12-13 per cent annually. It will continue to grow at this pace if not higher," he said.

The company expects product categories like cardiology (ECG machines), infection treatment (CT and X-Ray) and maternal and infant care (incubators, warmers) to grow faster.

"GE has been our valued partner since 1990. We hope to bring world-class healthcare to South Asia by providing best- in-class solutions," Wipro Chairman Azim Premji said.

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