Sime Darby Healthcare looks at regional expansion
PETALING JAYA: Sime Darby Bhd plans to expand its healthcare business under the Sime Darby Healthcare Group with a few more hospitals by 2016.
Sime Darby president and group chief executive Datukmohdbakke Salleh said their five-year strategic blueprint had come out with a guideline for the division to grow the business not just within the country but to expand it in the region as well.
“We are currently looking at a few countries in the region to add on more hospitals or to take equity stakes in existing hospitals.
“At the moment, we are looking at Jakarta where we have been discussing with a few market players but nothing firm has come out.
“For our expansion in the country, we are looking at locations outside the Klang Valley, for example, Penang,” he told reporters after the official opening of Sime Darby Medical Centre, Ara Damansara officiated by the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah yesterday.
On the acquisition of stakes of existing hospitals, Bakke said it should be guided by substance over form.
“I think it is important to have a significant stake but at the same time be an active partner.”
He added that the group did not intend to publicly list its healthcare division for the time being.
On the progress of its healthcare division based on the fiveyear blueprint launched last year, Bakke said it was on track.
“We plan to have another two hospitals by the end of 2013. Early next year we will launch Sime Darby Medical Centre Parkcity,” he said.
These two hospitals are in addition to its Sime Darby Medical Centre Subang Jaya, the 393-bed flagship tertiary care and Sime Darby Specialist Centre Megah.
On the outlook of the industry, Sime Darby Healthcare chairman Tan Sri Dr Wan Mohd Zahid Mohd Noordin said a recent study indicated that the private hospital services market in Malaysia was expected to reach Rm13.8bil in 2015.
“This figure paints an optimistic picture of the future of the sector and underscores our optimism on the prospects of the private healthcare,” he said.
Bakke said the local demand, for example in Selangor, was very good.
“In terms of foreign patients we hope to increase the percentage to 20% in four years from the current 5%,” he said.
As of the last financial year ended June 30, Bakke said the contribution of the healthcare division to the group was still quite small.
“In terms of pre-tax profit the healthcare division managed to record Rm25mil from the group’s total of Rm5.4bil,” he said.