Positive views on KPJ s foray into Bangladesh |
The market seems to like KPJ Healthcare Bhd 's move to partner a trust to run a hospital in Dhaka banagladesh, with analysts viewing the move as strategic. |
21-11-2013 |
PETALING JAYA: The market seems to like KPJ Healthcare Bhd's move to partner a trust to run a hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh, with analysts viewing the move as strategic.
Affin Investment Bank Bhd analyst Sharifah Farah said the entry into Bangladesh marked another milestone for the private healthcare services provider, which already had a presence in Indonesia, Australia and Thailand. She said despite the key economic and political risks involved, the exposure would be "It not only provides another revenue stream for the group in the long run, but the move "Our rerating catalysts include continuous growth in private healthcare demand in tandem with the growing middleincome population, growth in medical tourism and the Similarly, RHB Research analyst Chong Ooi Ming said the new venture would be a platform to provide KPJ's services to medical tourists from Bangladesh, seeing that a whopping 11,600 Bangladeshis had visited Malaysia for medical treatment last year as reported by the Tourism and Culture Ministry. However, Chong expressed concerns on the company incurring RM5mil to RMlOmil in "KPJ hospitals typically have a five year breakeven period. "We remain conservative on KPJ, as we are cautious of potential earnings disappointment in the upcoming quarters due to high startup costs since the group plans to double its capacity to 5,000 hospital beds in Malaysia by 2020," he said. KPJ has said it would bring in specialists and nurses to serve in the hospital, as well as acting as tutors to new specialists, to work alongside local professionals. "The hospital would be a model for publicprivate partnership initiatives in Bangladesh. KPJ closed 10 sen higher to RM6.28. |