The first of two dental clinics that Paulo Maló pledged to open in Macau one year ago to the Times will soon be launched in Central Macau, Maló told Lusa Agency in Beijing.
“The new space in central Macau will open this month or next,” Maló said. This will be the first of two major projects in the region that will also include a second clinic located in Taipa Island, amounting to a total investment of MOP20 million.
According to an interview with the Times last year, Maló stated that the clinics will operate with the support of local partners. The first clinic was built in partnership with Centro Médico Pedder (Pedder Clinic) which gave an investment of over MOP2 million.
The new clinic is a continuation of the first Maló-branded clinic, located at The Venetian Macao, which was then sold and rebranded as TaivexMalo Clinic.
About six months ago, the Health Bureau suspended the clinic due to concerns surrounding illegal assisted reproductive therapy, as well as the illegal possession and administration of oncological medicines. These factors led to TaivexMalo’s operating license being suspended for six months and later, to its eviction from the Cotai resort hotel. The clinic is 90 percent owned by the Chinese company, PHC-Pacific Health Care (PHC)
Although the closure was not directly related to the company, as Maló mentioned at the time, the order given to PHC affected his operations as it included a dental office from Malo.
To Lusa, Maló reaffirmed his intention to return to the space at The Venetian with PHC, in order to continue working on medical tourism (including dental care, cosmetic surgery, dermatology and pediatrics). However, he mentioned that this time he will take the lead in the management of the space.
“We need the space at The Venetian, which has become the largest medical tourism center in Asia, but we will not give up management control, because we have a lot to lose, as we saw by what happened this time – not only from an economic point of view, but also in [terms of our] reputation,” he said.
Commenting on the case being brought by Banco Nacional Ultramarino (BNU) regarding a debt of about MOP59.6 million (EUR6.3m), Maló noted that such debt is not from his company but from PHC, and that the Malo Clinic is only the guarantor in this process.
“When we sold [90 percent] of Malo in Macau to the Chinese [PHC], the sale price included the debt [to BNU]. What happens is that in the contract they [PHC] are responsible for paying the debt, and we [as guarantors] are liable [only] if they don’t fulfill the payments.” This was the case after the company ceased operations in Venetian.
Maló also added that in such a situation, his company will be liable for the debt. However, the payment will be directly related to the size of the share held by PHC, and, as the debt is progressively paid, Maló will gain control over a larger percentage of TaivexMalo Clinic. RM
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