KUALA LUMPUR: Healthcare providers TMC Life Sciences Bhd and KPJ Healthcare Bhd bucked the downward trend on Bursa Malaysia yesterday, rising 1.7% and 19.3% respectively. The FBM KLCI closed almost unchanged yesterday at 1,476.84 points.
TMC Life closed up eight sen or 19.3% to 49.5 sen, the highest since April 29. It reached an intraday high of 51.5 sen, marginally higher than its closing price with 42.3 million shares traded.
KPJ, the largest listed healthcare player in Malaysia, was up seven sen or 1.7% to close at RM4.15.
Earlier in the week, The Edge Financial Daily had reported on the possibility of KPJ and TMC Life becoming beneficiaries of Singapore’s Central Provident Fund’s (CPF) Medisave scheme. The report highlighted that the Singapore government’s move was an opportunity for healthcare providers in Malaysia to capture a bigger pie of a rapidly growing market share.
Currently, only 12 Malaysian hospitals are on CPF’s approved list for Medisave funds. KPJ, which has more than 20 hospitals in its stable and with a number of them in Johor, is a potential beneficiary of this scheme should it bid to be included in the list of hospitals. Khazanah Nasional Bhd’s plan to list Parkway Pantai Ltd, reportedly raising as much as US$2 billion (RM6.3 billion), in the first half of next year may be another catalyst for healthcare counters.
Khazanah owns 70% of Integrated Healthcare Holdings Sdn Bhd, which in turn owns 100% of Parkway Pantai. Parkway Pantai operates 16 hospitals throughout Asia, mostly in Singapore and Malaysia, and plans to add eight more in Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, China, India and the United Arab Emirates. Parkway Holdings came under Khazanah’s fold after a takeover tussle with India’s Fortis Healthcare Ltd. The deal valued Parkway Holdings at US$3.5 billion.
The 30% block in Integrated Healthcare, which holds other healthcare-related assets aside from Parkway Pantai, was sold to Japan’s second largest trader Mitsui & Co in April for RM3.3 billion, which effectively valued the healthcare group at RM11 billion.
Last week, Singapore billionaire Peter Lim announced a joint venture with the Johor royal family to build a RM4.6 billion medical hub and marina city in Johor Baru. The project is aimed at supporting the increasing demand and the government’s aspiration for Malaysia to become a major healthcare tourism destination by 2020.
The medical hub will be managed by a division of Thomson Medical, Thomson International Health Services, which is based in Singapore. Lim is the largest shareholder of Thomson Medical and Bursa-listed TMC Life.
This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, November 17, 2011.
TMC Life closed up eight sen or 19.3% to 49.5 sen, the highest since April 29. It reached an intraday high of 51.5 sen, marginally higher than its closing price with 42.3 million shares traded.
KPJ, the largest listed healthcare player in Malaysia, was up seven sen or 1.7% to close at RM4.15.
Earlier in the week, The Edge Financial Daily had reported on the possibility of KPJ and TMC Life becoming beneficiaries of Singapore’s Central Provident Fund’s (CPF) Medisave scheme. The report highlighted that the Singapore government’s move was an opportunity for healthcare providers in Malaysia to capture a bigger pie of a rapidly growing market share.
Currently, only 12 Malaysian hospitals are on CPF’s approved list for Medisave funds. KPJ, which has more than 20 hospitals in its stable and with a number of them in Johor, is a potential beneficiary of this scheme should it bid to be included in the list of hospitals. Khazanah Nasional Bhd’s plan to list Parkway Pantai Ltd, reportedly raising as much as US$2 billion (RM6.3 billion), in the first half of next year may be another catalyst for healthcare counters.
Khazanah owns 70% of Integrated Healthcare Holdings Sdn Bhd, which in turn owns 100% of Parkway Pantai. Parkway Pantai operates 16 hospitals throughout Asia, mostly in Singapore and Malaysia, and plans to add eight more in Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, China, India and the United Arab Emirates. Parkway Holdings came under Khazanah’s fold after a takeover tussle with India’s Fortis Healthcare Ltd. The deal valued Parkway Holdings at US$3.5 billion.
The 30% block in Integrated Healthcare, which holds other healthcare-related assets aside from Parkway Pantai, was sold to Japan’s second largest trader Mitsui & Co in April for RM3.3 billion, which effectively valued the healthcare group at RM11 billion.
Last week, Singapore billionaire Peter Lim announced a joint venture with the Johor royal family to build a RM4.6 billion medical hub and marina city in Johor Baru. The project is aimed at supporting the increasing demand and the government’s aspiration for Malaysia to become a major healthcare tourism destination by 2020.
The medical hub will be managed by a division of Thomson Medical, Thomson International Health Services, which is based in Singapore. Lim is the largest shareholder of Thomson Medical and Bursa-listed TMC Life.
This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, November 17, 2011.
