Parkway Pantai's international push

Singapore: Parkway Pantai Ltd, the healthcare group controlled by Khazanah Nasional Bhd, aims to triple the revenue contribution from its international operations to 33 per cent by expanding in Asia.

Read more: Parkway Pantai's international push http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/pawey/Article/#ixzz1bFSaBlkw

It is already one of the region's biggest healthcare group, operating more than 3,000 beds under 16 hospitals currently, and is in the process of adding another 2,300 beds in eight new hospitals from 2013 onwards. About nine per cent of its revenue in the first half of the year to June has come from international operations or businesses outside of Singapore and Malaysia. Group chief executive officer Dr Tan See Leng declined to say when it will achieve that 30 per cent target but added that it is keen to expand further into China and India. "We are also very excited with the huge expansion of the middle class in Indonesia. These are markets that you cannot ignore," he said at a briefing here on Monday. The briefing was done ahead of a topping-up ceremony for the Parkway Novena Hospital, the group's latest addition in Singapore, yesterday. Apart from three new hospitals in Malaysia, Parkway Pantai is also building five other hospitals in Singapore, Vietnam, China, India and the United Arab Emirates. The group's net profit for the first half of 2011 rose 18 per cent from a year ago to S$78.3 million (RM192.7 million). Revenue in the same period was S$621.2 million (RM1.53 billion), an 11 per cent gain from last year. In China, a 499-bed hospital is under construction in Pudong, Shanghai, and it is already looking for other sites. "We have been building alliances for six years. We are now quite comfortable to go in," Tan said. In India, it has a 425-bed hospital in a joint venture with the Apollo Group in Kolkata and a 450-bed facility is being built in Mumbai. This comes under a joint venture with Koncentric Investments Ltd and Dr Prakash Khubchandani. Parkway Pantai Chairman Datuk Mohammed Azlan Hashim de-clined to confirm or deny if the group is bidding for India's Ster-ling hospitals, which is based in Ahmedabad. India's Economic Times reported that Parkway Pantai has emerged as the favoured bidder for Sterling, which is controlled by the private equity group Actis. Azlan said the group continues to review all opportunities. He also declined to reveal when Integrated Healthcare Holdings Sdn Bhd (IHHSB), the parent of Parkway Pantai, will be listed. IHHSB is 70-per cent held by Khazanah, with Japan's Mitsui and Co owning the rest. In April, Khazanah chief Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar said the listing could happen in a year or two.