Sunway set to list healthcare arm in 2019
Group to spend RM1bil to build five more hospitals
PETALING JAYA: Sunway Bhd plans to list its healthcare business in two years’ time.
Sunway Group founder and chairman Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah said that healthcare business was the way forward for the group and it planned to build five more hospitals that was expected to incur a capital expenditure of RM1bil.
“Yes, we will have to list the healthcare division eventually as we plan not only to expand in Malaysia but also beyond local shores.
“But, we are taking our time to build more value and branding to the healthcare division.
“We could list it now as we already have a good track record but ideally in two years’ time we will more ready to list the healthcare division with better value.
“We have been awarded with many international recognitions and we want to be at the top of the list in healthcare services,” Cheah told reporters after the company’s annual general meeting yesterday.
Cheah said Sunway’s plan was to increase the number of beds in its flagship medical centre to 1,000 from the current 630.
“We are also anticipating another hospital currently under construction in Sunway Velocity in Cheras to be completed by the end of 2018.
“There will be another at Sunway Damansara, one in Ipoh, two in Penang and one in Sunway Iskandar, Johor. The investments amount to RM1bil to be spread over five years.
“The demand for healthcare services is growing and this year we anticipate to record about RM50mil of after tax profit for this business” he said.
Among the recent awards that Sunway Medical Centre has received this year are the Orthopaedics Service Provider of the Year award at the 2017 GHT-Bernstein Awards, and International Hospital of the Year Award 2017 by the International Medical Travel Journal.
On its construction business, Cheah said the company was confident of adding RM2bil more to its current RM4.8bil orderbook by the end of this year.
“Our tender book is currently at about RM10bil and most of the big projects are infrastructure contracts such as the mass rapid transit and light rail transit,” Cheah said.
Its property development division is expected to launch new projects worth RM2bil in gross development value with estimated sales of up RM1.1bil.
Sunway group also announced a bonus issue of shares and warrants yesterday.
In its filing with Bursa Malaysia, the company proposed a bonus issue of up to 2.8 bil- lions new ordinary shares on the basis of four bonus shares for every three existing Sunway shares held.
The company has also proposed a bonus issue of up to 631 million free warrants on the basis of three warrants for every 10 existing Sunway shares held on the same entitlement rate as the proposed bonus issue of shares.
“This is to reward shareholders and for them to participate in the financial derivatives of Sunway at zero cost,” he said.