Malaysian Billionaire Jeffrey Cheah’s Sunway Healthcare To Raise $736 Million From IPO

Sunway Healthcare Holdings—a unit of Malaysian billionaire Jeffrey Cheah‘s Sunway Group— is raising 2.9 billion ringgit ($736 million) from its IPO, in what could be the country’s biggest maiden share sale in nearly a decade.

The company plans to sell up to 1.97 billion shares, including 575 million new shares, at 1.45 ringgit each. The IPO kicked off today with the share sale to retail investors closing on March 5 and to institutional investors the following day. Trading of Sunway Healthcare on Bursa Malaysia will start on March 18.

The IPO values Sunway Healthcare at 16.7 billion ringgit, making it the countrys second largest healthcare company after IHH Healthcare, according to a prospectus released on Friday. The company currently operates five hospitals in Malaysia.

Sunway Healthcare—which is partly owned by Singapore‘s sovereign wealth fund GIC—will use proceeds from the IPO to partly finance expansion plans, which include expanding existing hospitals and building three new hospitals. When these projects are completed, the company’s capacity will increase by 72% to 3,400 beds by 2032.

One of Sunway Healthcare‘s upcoming projects is a 401-bed hospital in the southern Malaysian state of Johor, the project that is scheduled for completion by 2032 is part of a special economic zone being jointly developed by Malaysia and Singapore. Separately, Singaporean billionaire Peter Lim’s Thomson Medical Group is building a 500-bed hospital in Johor within an 18-billion-ringgit mixed-use project that will include a hotel, residential tower and commercial space.

Sunway Healthcare is part of the Sunway Group, which Cheah transformed from an obscure tin-mining company into one of Malaysias biggest conglomerates with interests in construction, education, healthcare, infrastructure and real estate. With a real-time net worth of $5.6 billion, Cheah is among wealthiest in the country.