TMC Life aims 25 pct income from foreign medical tourism by 2020

PETALING JAYA: Healthcare provider, TMC Life Sciences Bhd, aims to increase its income from foreign medical tourism to 25 per cent by 2020 from 10 per cent, currently.

Executive director/group chief executive off icer Roy Quek, however said, the company would still depend on its hospital project in Iskandariah, Johor Baharu, and the expansion of the Kota Damansara Tropicana Medical Centre, to add on capacity, thus attracting more patients.

“Hopefully, the expansion projects in Kota Damansara and Johor Baharu will take off as we are waiting for the building permit approvals.

“We really hope that both projects can start this year and be completed by 2020,” he told reporters after the company’s annual general meeting yesterday.

Quek said TMC would triple the number of beds in Kota Damansara Medical Centre from 200 at present.

As for the 50 0 - bedded Iskandariah Hospital, Johor Baharu, with an estimated cost of RM1.5 billion, it was still awaiting approval from the Ministry of Health, said Quek, adding that the total cost of the project might reach RM5 billion.

On the outlook for the healthcare industry, Quek said demand would remain reasonably strong, fuelled by changing demographics, a more affluent society and more healthconscious lifestyles among the population.

Askedontheimpactofthecurrent foreign exchange movement on the healthcare sector, he said, it would become cheaper for medical tourists to seek treatment in Malaysia and these include those from Singapore, Thailand and China.

“We are looking to bring in more medical tourists within the South East Asian region, because there is tremendous demand across the region,” he added.

TMC Fertility Centre, which has allocated RM25 million in capital expenditure for 2017, contributed 17.8 per cent of the group’s earnings while general hospital operations accounted for the bulk of the revenue. — Bernama