BY THE NUMBERS
Chindex Seizes on Olympic-Size Opportunity
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Under the Olympic spotlight, Bethesda-based Chindex International will have the chance to show the international community that a firm can successfully transplant American health care -- medical equipment, commercial health insurance and private hospitals -- to a communist country.
"A lot of eyes are on China these days," said Lawrence Pemble, Chindex's chief financial officer. "We're benefiting from that desire and focus."
Chindex, which operates one of the few Western-style hospitals in Beijing, will provide health-care services during the summer games to a number of visiting organizations, including NBC. U.S. Olympic team doctors will use Chindex's Beijing hospital as their base of operations.
The hospital will employ an extra 18 foreign doctors this month, and it has been educating its staff on how to medicate Olympic athletes to avoid accidental doping.
The Olympics exposure won't, however, generate much revenue. It's the company's growing presence in China, outside the context of the games, that is bound to catch the attention of foreign investors, U.S. analysts said.
This is Chindex's opportunity to increase awareness of its business model among foreign companies attending the festivities and to scope out business expansion opportunities in China, said Anthony Petrone, an analyst with Maxim Group.
"We used to be a small company in an isolated part of the world," Pemble said. "Now we're moving into an entirely different era kicked off by the Olympics."
-- Kendra Marr
