Will Perennial's big bet on healthcare pay off?

WITH the slowdown in office and retail property markets, one non-traditional asset class that is gaining popularity among developers as they diversify their income-producing portfolios is healthcare real estate.

This is seen in the recent interest in Catalist-listed International Healthway Corporation (IHC) from OUE, which launched a surprise takeover offer for the Asia-Pacific healthcare services and facilities provider in February after shoring up its stake to 57.6 per cent.

But since two years ago, mainboard-listed Perennial Real Estate Holdings already started betting big on the growth of healthcare demand in China. It has entered the industry nimbly through joint ventures with local healthcare players or direct equity stakes and bringing them in to operate in its large integrated projects.