The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has encouraged private hospital operators to tap the capital market to finance expansion and upgrades, citing growing funding needs in the healthcare sector.
SEC chairman Francis E. Lim said hospitals need more resources to expand capacity, modernize facilities, adopt new technologies, and improve services. He stressed that while government leads major healthcare investments, private hospitals play a key role in expanding access to medical services, especially where expansion is commercially viable.
To support this, the SEC has been implementing a policy called Securing and Expanding Capital for Hospital Entrepreneurs (SEC HOPES) since 2017. The program makes it easier for hospitals to raise funds by streamlining the registration of securities used to finance healthcare facility construction.
Under SEC HOPES, the review period for hospital securities registration was shortened to 28 days from the usual 45 days through a simplified process.
As of December, the SEC has registered 18 private hospitals under the program, covering nearly P20 billion in registered shares and about P17 billion in total issue value.
The SEC said improving hospitals’ access to capital will help address the country’s hospital shortage. The Philippines currently has only 0.5 hospital beds per 1,000 people, far below the 2.7 beds per 1,000 population needed to meet rising healthcare demand, based on the Department of Health’s long-term development plan.
Lim said keeping capital markets open and accessible will allow hospitals to expand and modernize, helping bring quality healthcare services closer to communities nationwide.
