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On the uptrend.
Health Management International cashing in on regional demand for healthcare
http://business.asiaone.com/news/health-management-international-cashing-regional-demand-healthcare
Mainboard-listed Health Management International (HMI), which is expanding its two tertiary-care hospitals in Malaysia to boost capacity, is also eyeing a bigger footprint in the region to cater to the rising demand for healthcare.
Increasing affluence, an ageing population as well as a growing transition to private healthcare in the middle-income segment are underpinning demand for private healthcare in Malaysia.
More Singaporeans are also headed across the Causeway for elective treatments and health screenings at Medisave-accredited hospitals.
"There are a lot of opportunities for growth in private healthcare in the region - in Malaysia and other countries," says Chin Wei Jia, group chief executive officer of HMI, adding that the group is in a net cash position which gives it the flexibility to scale up.
HMI currently has a 49 per cent stake in the 270-bed Mahkota Medical Centre in Malacca as well as a 61 per cent stake in the 200-bed Regency Specialist Hospital in Johor Bahru. Together serving over 400,000 patients annually, both are operated by the group under management contracts. In addition, HMI runs the HMI Institute of Health Sciences (IHS) in Singapore.
Mahkota is being ramped up to 360 beds and will also introduce new services, such as nuclear medicine, which uses radioactive material to diagnose or treat diseases. This comes after it recently launched a new day surgery unit last September.
Over at Regency Specialist, the group plans to build a RM90 million (S$30.7 million) medical block, which will effectively double capacity by adding more beds, clinics as well as inpatient and outpatient facilities.
Construction of the 10-storey medical block at Regency Specialist is expected to begin this year-end and will be completed in 2018. The expansion will be funded through internal cash and loans.
Meanwhile, the group is on the prowl for new investment opportunities in the region, given the growing demand for private healthcare services. While Malaysia is a likely option, given its familiarity with the country, it hasn't ruled out other markets as well.
Ms Chin said: "Medical tourism is still expected to grow. The growth for Malaysian healthcare tourism has been in the high double-digits over the past five years, and we expect this number to increase. Malaysia attracted about 850,000 medical tourists in 2015. As a two-hospital group, we contributed about 10 per cent of that."
According to industry data, the Malaysian medical tourism market will roughly double from RM1.09 billion in 2014 to an estimated RM2.03 billion in 2017. The weaker ringgit also makes Malaysia a more attractive proposition to medical tourists.
"We expect to see continued growth in medical tourists," Ms Chin said, adding that the group is working on improving the way it reaches out to foreign patients. Indonesia, in particular, is an important market for the group, given the cultural similarities between Indonesia and Malaysia. Foreign patients currently account for about 20 per cent of the patient load across both hospitals.
Meanwhile, HMI will continue to tap HMI IHS here for internal training as well as use the institute's facilities to offer training to Singaporeans and others in the region. The institute is in the process of shifting to e-learning, which will allow it to broaden its base of users by reaching out to those who are working full-time and those in developing countries.
While a listed company, the group is in a sense the family business for Ms Chin. Founding member (and Ms Chin's mother) Gan See Khem, is the executive chairman while Ms Chin's brother, Chin Wei Yao, is an executive director as well as director of finance and corporate development. Meanwhile, Dr Gan's husband Chin Koy Nam (also a doctor) was an executive director until he retired in 2014.
Health Management International cashing in on regional demand for healthcare
http://business.asiaone.com/news/health-management-international-cashing-regional-demand-healthcare
Mainboard-listed Health Management International (HMI), which is expanding its two tertiary-care hospitals in Malaysia to boost capacity, is also eyeing a bigger footprint in the region to cater to the rising demand for healthcare.
Increasing affluence, an ageing population as well as a growing transition to private healthcare in the middle-income segment are underpinning demand for private healthcare in Malaysia.
More Singaporeans are also headed across the Causeway for elective treatments and health screenings at Medisave-accredited hospitals.
"There are a lot of opportunities for growth in private healthcare in the region - in Malaysia and other countries," says Chin Wei Jia, group chief executive officer of HMI, adding that the group is in a net cash position which gives it the flexibility to scale up.
HMI currently has a 49 per cent stake in the 270-bed Mahkota Medical Centre in Malacca as well as a 61 per cent stake in the 200-bed Regency Specialist Hospital in Johor Bahru. Together serving over 400,000 patients annually, both are operated by the group under management contracts. In addition, HMI runs the HMI Institute of Health Sciences (IHS) in Singapore.
Mahkota is being ramped up to 360 beds and will also introduce new services, such as nuclear medicine, which uses radioactive material to diagnose or treat diseases. This comes after it recently launched a new day surgery unit last September.
Over at Regency Specialist, the group plans to build a RM90 million (S$30.7 million) medical block, which will effectively double capacity by adding more beds, clinics as well as inpatient and outpatient facilities.
Construction of the 10-storey medical block at Regency Specialist is expected to begin this year-end and will be completed in 2018. The expansion will be funded through internal cash and loans.
Meanwhile, the group is on the prowl for new investment opportunities in the region, given the growing demand for private healthcare services. While Malaysia is a likely option, given its familiarity with the country, it hasn't ruled out other markets as well.
Ms Chin said: "Medical tourism is still expected to grow. The growth for Malaysian healthcare tourism has been in the high double-digits over the past five years, and we expect this number to increase. Malaysia attracted about 850,000 medical tourists in 2015. As a two-hospital group, we contributed about 10 per cent of that."
According to industry data, the Malaysian medical tourism market will roughly double from RM1.09 billion in 2014 to an estimated RM2.03 billion in 2017. The weaker ringgit also makes Malaysia a more attractive proposition to medical tourists.
"We expect to see continued growth in medical tourists," Ms Chin said, adding that the group is working on improving the way it reaches out to foreign patients. Indonesia, in particular, is an important market for the group, given the cultural similarities between Indonesia and Malaysia. Foreign patients currently account for about 20 per cent of the patient load across both hospitals.
Meanwhile, HMI will continue to tap HMI IHS here for internal training as well as use the institute's facilities to offer training to Singaporeans and others in the region. The institute is in the process of shifting to e-learning, which will allow it to broaden its base of users by reaching out to those who are working full-time and those in developing countries.
While a listed company, the group is in a sense the family business for Ms Chin. Founding member (and Ms Chin's mother) Gan See Khem, is the executive chairman while Ms Chin's brother, Chin Wei Yao, is an executive director as well as director of finance and corporate development. Meanwhile, Dr Gan's husband Chin Koy Nam (also a doctor) was an executive director until he retired in 2014.
I thought mod support another health care stock..
