COPENHAGEN, March 12 (Reuters) - Novo Holdings, the

controlling shareholder of Danish obesity drugmaker Novo Nordisk

, plans to open an office in India this year to tap

innovation and a growing healthcare market, its CEO Kasim Kutay

said on Tuesday.

The firm, whose assets under management rose to 149 billion

euros ($163 billion) at the end of 2023 from 108 billion a year

earlier, manages a portfolio of 170 companies across life

sciences and capital investments in equities, fixed-income

assets, and real estate.

It has seen a surge in revenue from Novo Nordisk, the maker

of blockbuster obesity drug Wegovy and diabetes treatment

Ozempic.

Novo Holdings, the investment arm of the Novo Nordisk

Foundation, owning 28% of the drugmaker's equity and 77% of the

voting shares, established offices in Singapore in 2021 and in

Shanghai in 2022, and plans to open one in Mumbai this year.

"That obviously speaks to the ambitions that we have in that

region," Kutay told Reuters in an interview, adding that the

company will invest between $300 million and $500 million in

Asia each year in the coming five years.

The company has already invested in Indian private hospital

chain Manipal Hospitals and in Qure.ai, which specialises in

reading and interpreting medical images such as X-rays, CTs and

ultrasounds.

Novo Holdings has also invested in four China-based

companies and three in Southeast Asia.

"You've got huge populations, growing middle classes that

want more healthcare, governments that are focusing on greater

provision of healthcare, and they're increasingly a source of

innovation," Kutay said.

"Put all of that together, and those countries are going to

be very, very important markets for us," he said.

Most of the investments in Asia will be in growth equity,

rather than larger buyouts, he said.

Novo Holdings' total income last year stood at 31 billion

Danish crowns, of which 19 billion came from its ownership of

Novo Nordisk and Novonesis and 13 billion were

returns from its investment portfolio.

Novo Holdings said last month it would buy manufacturing

subcontractor Catalent ( CTLT ) for $16.5 billion and resell

three plants to Novo Nordisk to boost Wegovy output.

Kutay said that deal was a one-off and that Novo Holdings

would avoid any overlap with Novo Nordisk such as diabetes or

obesity.

Novo Holdings has not yet fully developed a strategy for

Catalent ( CTLT ) but there are no plans to sell off any assets, he said.

($1 = 0.9156 euros)