PETALING JAYA: Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte Ltd will acquire a 16% stake in Sunway Healthcare Holdings Sdn Bhd for RM750 million.
Sunway group chairman Jeffrey Cheah said the agreement was signed earlier today, following evaluations of various proposals from domestic and international investment funds, private equity firms as well as sovereign wealth funds.
“This foreign direct investment by GIC will value Sunway Healthcare at close to RM4.7 billion when completed,” he said in a press conference today.
“I am very confident that with GIC as a strategic partner, Sunway will succeed in maximising its full potential in the region’s expanding healthcare sector.”
Cheah also revealed that Sunway planned to build another six medical centres in the next three to four years, increasing its capacity to around 3,000 beds. This will include new hospitals in Penang, Perak, Selangor, Kelantan and Johor.
Sunway currently operates two hospitals in Bandar Sunway and Sunway Velocity, with a current capacity of over 800 beds and 400 consultant specialists.
Cheah added that Sunway was planning an initial private offering in six to eight years from now.
“We are confident that by then, all the hospitals will be in full swing and delivering good services to our patients.”
Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, whose pre-recorded speech was aired at the signing ceremony this morning, said the sizable foreign direct investment in a Malaysian company was proof of confidence in both Sunway and the local economy.
He also said 14% of the country’s population was expected to be above 65 years old by 2044, turning Malaysia into an aged society.
“Serving the needs and demands of older citizens can open a new silver economy as aged care could become a new economic driver. Moving forward, the healthcare sector driven by structural demographic changes will present new opportunities to patient investors,” he said.
Muhyiddin also admitted that the pandemic had exposed the healthcare system’s vulnerabilities in human resources, logistics, patient care and the supply chain.
He added that a “multi-sectoral and collaborative approach with public and private partnerships” were needed to ensure the country’s health sustainability and resilience post-pandemic.