Malaysia's Sime Darby eyes healthcare portfolio expansion

It targets to go beyond other markets within the region.

Malaysia's Sime Darby Berhad is eager to snap up more hospitals in the region as part of its plan to boost its healthcare business.

The company owns and operates three hospitals each in Malaysia and Indonesia respectively.

"We are looking at targets outside Malaysia, within the region, for potential acquisitions of hospitals. Our preferred strategy is to buy, rather than to build, as it takes a longer time for a greenfield hospital to be profitable,” said group CEO Datuk Jeffri Salim Davidson.

Ramsay Sime Darby Health Care, Sime Darby Berhad’s 50:50 joint venture with Ramsay Health Care achieved a PBIT of $3.58m (MYR15m) in Q1 FY2019 compared to $2.86m (MYR12m) in Q1 FY2018. This was largely attributed to higher revenue from both the Malaysian and Indonesian operations.