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Asia healthcare assets risk overvaluation as private investors scoop them up

Macroeconomic uncertainty among reasons driving PE investors to buy up more assets in the segment, long viewed as defensive

Wong Chia Peck
Published Mon, Jun 9, 2025 · 09:21 PM
    • Market participants see the healthcare sector in Asia as having more room for growth, given the region's robust fundamentals.
    • Market participants see the healthcare sector in Asia as having more room for growth, given the region's robust fundamentals. PHOTO: ISTOCKPHOTO

    [SINGAPORE] As private equity (PE) investors pour money into Asian healthcare, some observers are concerned that this sector could soon overheat.

    Some recent deals this year include KKR’s US$400 million purchase of a 54 per cent stake in India’s Healthcare Global Enterprises in February. In Singapore, another American PE firm TPG took Catalist-listed nursing operator Econ Healthcare private in a deal worth nearly S$88 million. When the proposed transaction was announced in February, the offer price represented a 20 per cent premium to Econ’s last traded share price on Jan 14.

    “We are not the only ones to see the opportunity of healthcare in Asia, and, as a consequence, valuations can be high,” Abrar Mir, co-founder and managing partner of healthcare-focused PE firm Quadria Capital, told The Business Times.

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