Singapore's GIC Buys 16% Stake in SUNWAY HEALTHCARE

September 13, 2021

On 24 June 2021 GIC Pte Ltd and the Sunway Group announced that GIC will invest RM750 million cash to buy a 16% stake in Sunway Healthcare Sdn Bhd. The transaction values Sunway Healthcare at RM4.688 billion.   

Sunway Group founder and chairman, Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah said that he was delighted to announce the partnership with GIC , a seasoned global healthcare investor. He added that it was a significant milestone for Sunway and he is confident that the Sunway-GIC partnership will further enhance the value of Sunway Healthcare.  

GIC is Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, established in 1981 to manage Singapore’s foreign reserves.  GIC has invested in healthcare and healthcare-related sectors in the United States, Australia, Brazil, Philippines, China and Vietnam.  

Sunway Healthcare

Sunway Healthcare is a subsidiary of listed Sunway Berhad which is controlled by Sunway Group founder Tan Sri Dr Jeffrey Cheah.  

It operates two tertiary hospitals  with a combined capacity of 800 beds and more than 400 consultant specialists. Tertiary hospitals provide highly specialized care like cardiac surgery, neurosurgery, cancer and other complicated treatments. Sunway Healthcare's flagship is the Sunway Medical Centre, Sunway City, and Sunway Medical Centre Velocity, Kuala Lumpur.  

New Sunway hospitals are being developed in Selangor, Penang, Perak, Kelantan, and Johor which is expected to ramp up the Group’s capacity to about 3000 beds.  

The Sunway Group began in 1974 with the development of Sunway City Kuala Lumpur on a tin-mining wasteland which under Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah was turned into an integrated township. The Sunway Group is one of Malaysia’s largest conglomerates.    

For Financial Year ended 31 December 2020 Sunway Berhad registered a total revenue of RM3.83 billion and profit before tax of RM512 million.  

The healthcare division contributes over RM600m in revenue and RM17.4m in profit. This is a growing segment and a listing of Sunway Healthcare is expected in future.

 Major shareholder

Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah and family members are deemed interested in 60.3% of the shares of listed Sunway Berhad as at April 2021.

What about the Sunway University education group? 

Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah transferred the shares and rights of the Sunway educational institutions into the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation in March 2010. The objective of the Foundation is to award scholarships to deserving students who cannot afford higher education. He is the chairman and a Trustee of the Foundation.  

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

  1. HEALTHCAREASiA. Singapore’s GIC buys 16% stake in Sunway Healthcare for $180.9m. https://healthcareasiamagazine.com/healthcare/news/singapores-gic-buys-16-stake-in-sunway-healthcare-1809m 
  2. GIC. 24 June 2021. https://www.gic.com.sg/newsroom/all/gic-invests-rm750-million-in-sunway-healthcare/ 
  3. Sunway. Progressing the Healthcare landscape. https://www.sunway.com.my/founder-and-chairman/ 
  4. Sunway University. Nation Building Ten Years on – Sunway stories.  https://university.sunway.edu.my/sunway-in-the-news/nation-building-10-years-on 
  5. Sunway Berhad. Annual Report 2020. https://ir2.chartnexus.com/sunway/doc/annual-report/ar2020.pdf