KPJ Healthcare Berhad

KPJ looks to venture abroad

PETALING JAYA (Oct 26, 2011): KPJ Healthcare Bhd will continue to spread its wings overseas, especially in the area of hospital management given its experience and expertise in the field, said its exe

PETALING JAYA (Oct 26, 2011): KPJ Healthcare Bhd will continue to spread its wings overseas, especially in the area of hospital management given its experience and expertise in the field, said its executive director and COO Amiruddin Abdul Satar.

The country's largest private specialist hospital operator is in initial talks with several interested groups although it has yet to finalise any deals.

Amiruddin said many foreign companies, especially from Vietnam, Myanmar, Bangladesh and the Middle East, have approached KPJ for its management expertise.

"We have been exploring to operate in a few countries before and will continue to explore new markets. We have enough expertise and knowledge to contribute to the new markets. We will look for management rather that owning (hospitals)," Amiruddin told SunBiz recently.

KPJ owns and manages 21 private hospitals in Malaysia and two in Indonesia.

On the healthcare industry here, Amiruddin said with the setting up of more hospitals, the players are competing for healthcare professionals, especially specialists and experienced nurses.

Acknowledging that several local colleges are producing nurses for the industry, he said these fresh graduates do not have enough experience to support the hospitals.

"We need to have the right balance between experienced and fresh nurses," he said.

"We are generating nurses through our own college (KPJ International University College of Nursing & Health Sciences). We have already obtained university status," he said.

Currently, KPJ is running two colleges in Nilai and Johor Baru through its education arm, KPJ International College. It hopes to open the third college in Penang early next year.

Amiruddin said the company also expects to start its own medical faculty next year, which will be located in Nilai.

"We have the edge compared with other colleges in the market. We can assure quality training for our nurses.

It is not just theory but also clinical exposure for them. We should not have any problem to train them because we have 21 hospitals. We will go for quality rather quantity," he said.

Asked on future plans, Amiruddin said KPJ plans to add another 600 beds by end-2014 with new hospitals coming into operation. Currently, it has some 3,000 beds.

He said the Klang Specialist Hospital is slated to open before year-end while those under construction in Muar and Pasir Gudang in Johor, Pahang, Perlis and Sabah will open in stages between 2012 and 2014.

Amiruddin said KPJ has invested RM500 million in the construction of these hospitals.