Malaysia's Sunway plans stake sale in healthcare business to GIC

[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysian conglomerate Sunway Bhd is looking to sell a strategic stake in its healthcare business to Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), The Edge Weekly reported on Saturday.

The weekly, citing two unnamed sources it said were familiar with Sunway, reported that the deal is close to conclusion and Sunway could be selling 20-25 per cent of equity in its healthcare business as early as this week.

However it was unclear which healthcare business it would be selling to Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, the report said.

Sunway and GIC did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside of work hours.

Sunway has said in a stock filing in September that it had appointed Maybank Investment Bank to "explore strategic investment options for its healthcare portfolio, in line with the company's objective to enhance shareholder value".

The filing was in response to a Bloomberg report that the group picked Maybank to work on a US$250 million stake sale in its healthcare unit, Sunway Medical Centre.

REUTERS