Parkway to run private hospital in Sabah

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Parkway Holdings Ltd, the Singapore hospital operator, said it will lease and operate a RM200 million (US$65 million) private hospital that will be built in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

Parkway, controlled by Malaysia’s Khazanah Nasional Bhd, signed an agreement with Jesselton Wellness Sdn Bhd, a special-purpose vehicle set up to develop the hospital that is part-owned by an investment arm of Sabah’s state government, the company said in a statement.

Danajamin Nasional Bhd, a Malaysian state bond insurer, will guarantee RM200 million of notes that will be issued to finance the project, it said.

By Bloomberg

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KPJ to open 4 new medical centres

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KPJ Healthcare Bhd, Malaysia's leading private healthcare provider, is on target to open four new medical centres by 2012 to add to its stable of 20 hospitals.

KPJ Healthcare, a member of the Johor Corp Group, is expected to spend nearly RM500 million on the hospitals in Bandar Baru Klang in Selangor, Pasir Gudang and Muar in Johor, and Sabah Medical Centre in Kota Kinabalu.

Its managing director, Datin Paduka Siti Sa'diah Sheikh Bakir, said it had other hospitals in the pipeline but they would be built later.

"The construction of the four hospitals is in progress and the Klang hospital, which costs nearly RM100 million including equipment, is expected to open next year.
"The RM200 million Sabah Medical Centre and the Muar and Pasir Gudang hospitals, which cost RM70 million and RM90 million respectively, are expected to open in 2012," she told reporters in Kota Baru, Kelantan, yesterday.

Siti Sa'diah was speaking after the presentation of the Malaysian Society for Quality in Health (MSQH) accreditation to its hospital, Perdana Specialist Hospital, and the subsequent change of its name to KPJ Perdana Specialist Hospital.

KPJ Perdana is the ninth hospital in the group which has received the international-standard accreditation. The others are KPJ Ampang Puteri Specialist Hospital, KPJ Johor Specialist Hospital, KPJ Ipoh Specialist Hospital, KPJ Damansara Specialist Hospital, KPJ Selangor Specialist Hospital, KPJ Seremban Specialist Hospital, KPJ Kajang Specialist Hospital and Kedah Medical Centre.

Siti Sa'diah said it had targeted four hospitals to achieve the accreditation this year and had managed to do so.

"We hope to get another four hospitals to receive the accreditation next year," she said.

The accreditation was presented by MSQH chief surveyor Dr Mary Abraham to the chairman of KPJ Perdana Specialist Hospital, Aminudin Dawam.

By Business Times

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KPJ to inject assets into REIT

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KPJ Healthcare Bhd is set to raise RM138.7 million by injecting three of its hospital buildings into a real estate investment trust (REIT) scheme called Al-'Aqar KPJ REIT.

KPJ managing director Datin Paduka Siti Sa'diah Sheikh Bakir said under the scheme, the healthcare group will in return get a combination of RM1.1 million in cash and the balance in new Al-'Aqar KPJ REIT units.

The exercise involves the sale of two hospital buildings here - the Bandar Baru Klang Specialist Hospital in Selangor and the Kluang Utama Specialist Hospital in Johor.

The third hospital is the Rumah Sakit Bumi Serpong Damai building in Jakarta, Indonesia.



To retain the use of the buildings, the group in turn will rent the buildings via a 15-year lease with an option to extend the tenure for another 15 years.
The asset injection will allow the group to unlock value and realise its investment in the properties, Siti Sa'adiah said.

Proceeds from the asset sales will be used to pare down the group's borrowings and trim the gearing to 0.4 times from 0.5 times and an interest cost-savings of about RM2.2 million a year.

"This will enable us to gain access into funds in our plans to build new hospitals next year such as in Pasir Gudang, Kuantan, Klang, Muar and in Sabah," she told reporters in Kuala Lumpur yesterday after Al-'Aqar KPJ REIT's annual shareholder meeting.

Al-'Aqar KPJ REIT is the first and largest Islamic healthcare REIT in Malaysia and managed by Damansara REIT managers Sdn Bhd, which is a member of the Johor Corp Group (JCorp).

The sale and leaseback of the three hospitals is the fourth tranche of the REIT's injection since its launch in 2006.

The first tranche involved the injection of six hospital buildings valued at RM481.2 million, the second involved the sale of five buildings for RM170.0 million and the third comprised seven hospital buildings and one nursing college for RM292.5 million.

With the injection, Al-'Aqar KPJ REIT's total enlarged units stands at 636.8 million units with a total of 22 hospital buildings under its scheme, one nursing college, the Selesa Hotel, Metropolis Tower and another two properties in Jakarta.

Upon completion of the proposed acquisitions, the enlarged total asset value will be more than RM1.2 billion.

Al-'Aqar KPJ REIT will seek listing and quotation for its consideration units of 56.6 million units on the Main Board of Bursa Securities.

By Business Times

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Columbia Asia opens Shah Alam hospital

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Malaysia-based international healthcare provider, Columbia Asia Group today officially opened its new Columbia Asia Hospital-Bukit Rimau in Shah Alam, developed at a cost of RM67 million.

"There is an increasing demand for affordable healthcare services and we are excited to bring this new hospital to residents in Bukit Rimau and the surrounding communities," said Chief Executive Officer, Southeast Asia, Columbia Asia Group, Kelvin Tan.

"This facility will also augment our other seven hospitals in Malaysia in line with our goal of becoming the preferred choice for employers, insurance companies and middle-income families across Asia," he said in a statement here today.

The hospital in Bukit Rimau is the eighth Columbia Asia community hospital in Malaysia after one each in Miri and Bintulu in Sarawak, Seremban, Taiping, Shah Alam, Puchong and Nusajaya (Johor).

It plans to open three more hospitals namely in Cheras Selatan and Setapak in Kuala Lumpur and in Seremban. These hospitals are expected to be operational in phases from early next year to 2012.

Tan said there has been an exponential increase in the number of people who are medically insured by employers and insurance companies.

In Malaysia, over 70 per cent of Columbia Asia’s revenues are received from third party payers.

By Bernama

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Pantai plans Gleneagles hospital in Iskandar

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PANTAI Holdings Bhd plans to build an estimated RM500 million hospital in Iskandar Malaysia, Johor, to help provide more world-class healthcare services in the country.

The hospital, to be called Gleneagles Medini Hospital, will be built on a 6ha site that Pantai is buying.

The land is in the mixed development area of Medini, Iskandar, the group said in a statement yesterday. It said Gleneagles Medini Hospital will be jointly developed with Global Capital & Development Sdn Bhd (GCD).

An agreement was signed between GCD, a consortium led by Mubadala Development, and Pantai's wholly-owned Pantai Hospital Johor Sdn Bhd.

"This development will set new benchmarks for quality healthcare to reinforce Malaysia's capacity in delivering world-class medical services to both Malaysians and foreign partners," Pantai chairman Khairil Anuar Abdullah said in the statement.

The healthcare complex will eventually comprise a 300-bed private tertiary hospital and a 150-suite medical office block with centres of excellence.

GCD chief executive Keith Martin said the group is proud to be working with Pantai. "The high standards set by Pantai are aligned with GCD's vision to ensure the best in planning, design and management within Medini."

By Business Times

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Pantai plans RM500mil expansion of hospital network

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KUALA LUMPUR: The Pantai Group plans to expand its network of hospitals in Iskandar Malaysia at an estimated cost of RM500mil.

The group, which has already acquired a 15-acre piece of land in Medini, Iskandar, plans to build a healthcare complex of comprising a 300-bed private tertiary hospital, a 150-suite medical office block with centres of excellence that will address healthcare concerns of a growing yet maturing population.

The development of the project, which will bear the name Gleneagles Medini Hospital, will be done in phases and is slated to be one of the premium hospitals under Parkway Health. The agreement was signed between Pantai Hospital Johor Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pantai Hospitals Sdn Bhd, which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Pantai Holdings Berhad and Global Capital & Development Sdn Bhd (GCD), a consortium led by Mubadala Development Company.

We are proud to be working with such an established international healthcare provider to bring top quality healthcare to Medini.

The high standards set by Pantai aligned with GCD's vision to ensure the best in planning, design and management within Medini. We will work closely with Pantai to develop a world class facility that will put Iskandar Malaysia at the forefront of healthcare in South-East Asia, said Keith Martin, chief executive of GCD in a statement yesterday.

This development is a key step in establishing healthcare as a catalyst sector in Iskandar Malaysia and will set new benchmarks for quality healthcare (in Malaysia), said Pantai Holdings chairman Khairil Anuar Abdullah.

capacity for delivering world-class medical services to both Malaysians and foreign patient.

By leveraging on the strategic positioning of Iskandar, the hospital will be well positioned to serve the growing demand for medical travel in the region, and will provide even better medical facilities to the people of Johor.

This facility is targeted to meet the demands for high quality, yet affordable, healthcare in Malaysia, Singapore and wherever such services are not available, said said Pantai Holdings chairman Khairil Anuar Abdullah.

By The Star

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Pantai to build hospital in Iskandar

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Pantai Holdings Bhd intends to expand its network of hospitals to Iskandar Malaysia with the purchase of six hectares of land in the mixed development area of Medini, Iskandar.

An agreement was signed between Global Capital & Development Sdn Bhd (GCD), a consortium led by Mubadala Development Company, and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Pantai Hospital Johor Sdn Bhd.

"This development is a key step in establishing healthcare as a catalyst sector in Iskandar Malaysia and will set new benchmarks for quality healthcare to reinforce Malaysia's capacity for delivering world-class medical services to both Malaysians and foreign partners," Pantai Holdings Chairman Khairil Anuar Abdullah said in a statement today.

The planned healthcare complex will be built in phases and will eventually comprise a 300 bedded private tertiary hospital, a 150 suite medical office block with centres of excellence to address the healthcare needs of the population.

By Bernama

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SP Setia hub sets green benchmark

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SP Setia Bhd's Setia City integrated commercial hub in Shah Alam, Selangor, will have 40 office towers with green certification over the next 10 to 15 years, its chief said.



Setia City is by far the only commercial hub that will have more than 40 buildings. It will include residential blocks, four-star hotel, retail mall, convention centre, hospital and university.

Setia City, estimated to be worth RM5 billion, will set a new benchmark where green development is concerned, SP Setia president and chief executive officer Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin said.

According to Liew, Setia City will be the first integrated project in the country to have all its buildings certified under the Green Building Index.

"While green buildings may not be a new phenomenon in the country, they are usually standalone structures," he said at the launch of Setia City by Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Chor Chee Heung yesterday.
Setia City, sprawled over 96ha in Setia Alam, is expected to attract local and multinational companies, Liew said.

SP Setia is also selling land at Setia City and companies which buy the land can build their own towers to their specifications.

To date, Top Glove Corp Bhd and Khind Holdings Bhd have bought land to set up Grade A office towers as their new corporate headquarters.

Top Glove will build an 18-storey tower, while Khind is mulling over its plans.

SP Setia will also set up its corporate headquarters in a nine-storey building.

Ongoing works at Setia City include the 1.23 million sq ft Setia City Mall by Land Lease Australia.

On the hotel, university and hospital, Liew said the company will talk to local operators to run the facilities.

Meanwhile, Chor said his ministry and Bank Negara Malaysia were monitoring property price movements to prevent a housing bubble.

"We are still far from a property bubble. But we are monitoring and will take action against speculators," he said.

By Business Times

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SP Setia plans 40 corporate office buildings worth RM5bil in Setia City

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From left: Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Wira Chor Chee Heung, Cheng Ping Keat, Lee Kim Meow and SP Setia deputy president and COO Datuk Voon Tin Yow with a model of Setia City

SHAH ALAM: SP Setia Bhd plans to set up about 40 corporate office buildings in its 96ha integrated green commercial hub, Setia City that is worth RM5bil in gross development value when completed in 10 to 15 years.

The company has secured Top Glove Corp Bhd and Khind Holdings Bhd to set up their corporate headquarters in the hub, which will comprise office towers, hotels, service apartments and a retail mall.

“We are now in talks with a few local companies to set up their corporate office towers here and are not discounting the possibilities to talk to multinational companies in the future,” SP Setia president and chief executive officer Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin told a press conference after the official launch of Setia City by Housing and Local Government Ministry Minister Datuk Wira Chor Chee Heung yesterday.

He said SP Setia was constructing its own corporate building at Setia City, a nine-storey block with a four-storey annexed building connected to the mall via a bridge.

The construction of its headquarters was expected to start by the first quarter of next year and to be completed by end of 2012, he added.

Meanwhile, Top Glove managing director Lee Kim Meow said the company decided to initially go for a smaller building of between six and eight floors. With the additional land area, it has the option of expanding the size of its headquarters when the need arise.

Khind Holdings chief executive officer Cheng Ping Keat said: “We are still in the planning stage and will understand our needs going forward in order to make a final decision.”

On Setia City’s future development, Liew said the company planned to launch two blocks of serviced apartment and a SoHo next year, adding that it planned to build a three or four stars hotel and was in talk with a local company for a possible joint venture.

“We plan to build a medical centre and a private university. We will make sure we embrace the group’s live, learn, work and play philosophy for our township development,” he said.

By The Star

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