M'sia's largest private hospital eyeing Brunei
By Rosli Abidin Yahya

The biggest private hospital operator in Malaysia, KPJ Healthcare Bhd is planning to spread its wings to Brunei Darussalam in the near future.

In a statement, the private hospital said it has initiated talks with relevant authorities in Brunei Darussalam. The hospital is also interested in expanding their healthcare activities to other countries such as the Middle East, China, Indonesia and Singapore.

Initial talks to open doors for the hospital to operate here were held during the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) and Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) meetings in Kuala Lumpur recently. KPJ Healthcare's managing director Datin Paduka Siti Sa'adiah Sheikh Bakir said since the September 11, 2001 attacks, Middle East countries had shifted their focus away from the US and Europe for healthcare expertise.

KPJ Healthcare started 22 years ago and had developed enormous hands-on experience in almost every aspect of the healthcare business, right from the feasibility and design stage to the implementation and running of operations.

Other than hospitals, KPJ also provides support services such as retail of pharmaceutical products undertaken through PharmaCare Bhd, and a nursing college through Puteri Nursing College Sdn Bhd.

As for design and construction, it has already built a number of hospitals, including the Ampang Puteri Specialist Hospital and Damansara Specialist Hospital, using its own in-house design and expertise.

"We are already in talking terms with several interested parties locally and abroad to have working relationship in the management, building and commissioning, healthcare technical services, bio-technical engineering support and maintenance of their hospitals," she said.

In Malaysia, KPJ owns 11 hospitals, following the injection of nine from Kumpulan Perubatan Johor Sdn Bhd, Tawakal Holdings Sdn Bhd and Medical Centre (Johore) Sdn Bhd in late 2002.

Since its listing in 1994 until that injection, KPJ had only been operating two hospitals under its wing, the Johor Specialist Hospital and Ipoh Specialist Hospital.

Shortly there will be two more hospitals: one in Kuching will open for outpatient services business soon while the other in Seremban will be operational by April this year.

With the injection, KPJ is set to see improvement in its financial results in 2004. Its nine months to September 2003 showed pre-tax profit of RM17.95 million on turnover of RM375 million.

"Medicines, laboratory resources and even food could be procured through one centre and there should be tremendous savings just from these activities," she said.

She said KPJ had been able to maintain profitability as most of the hospitals in the group were "matured" and their healthy and well-balanced composition had enabled the company to manage its earnings at a profitable level.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin