Luz Saúde, a Portuguese healthcare subsidiary of Fosun International Ltd of China, will set up a call centre in the city of Vila Real in northern Portugal to serve patients all over the country, Lusa reports.

The Portuguese news agency quotes a spokesman for Luz Saúde as saying the company will begin next month recruiting 50 young local workers with a view to opening the call centre by the end of May, and create openings for 100 more workers by the end of next year.

The report says Luz Saúde runs 15 hospitals and 13 clinics.

The company invested €12.5 million (about US$14.1 million) in converting a former hotel in Vila Real into a hospital called Hospital da Luz, which opened in September, creating 70 new jobs in the city, Lusa says.