Malaysia fund loses US$800m in value over three days

[SINGAPORE] The troubles are adding up for IHH Healthcare Bhd, wiping almost US$800 million from its market value over three days.

A whipsawing Turkish lira, a major shareholder cutting its stake, and continued uncertainty over a plan to buy Fortis Healthcare Ltd have led IHH to fall 6.6 per cent over three days while the benchmark index was largely flat. The stock fell as much as 6.1 per cent on Tuesday, the most since Aug 13, pushing its 14-day relative strength index into oversold territory for the first time since November.

The lira's roller-coaster ride that began on Friday may weigh on the company's Turkish unit Acibadem Saglik Yatirimlari Holding AS and worsen non-lira liabilities, Nomura Securities Co analyst Raghavendra Divekar wrote in a March 28 note. He has a buy rating on IHH. The firm is looking to repay US$250 million of non-lira debt to manage foreign exchange exposure at Acibadem, it said last month.

IHH may also be under pressure after the Employees' Provident Fund sold 1.8 million of the company's shares last week. Malaysia's biggest pension fund has been lowering its stake in IHH to 7.46 per cent, from 8.44 per cent at the end of 2018, according to stock exchange filings.

Meanwhile, IHH's planned acquisition of Fortis remains in limbo after India's top court put it on hold. Daiichi Sankyo Co. had filed a suit against Fortis to recover US$500 million from the founders and ex-owners of the embattled hospital chain.

Any adjustments made due to the ongoing probes against Fortis may affect the provisional goodwill value of the company, according to an April 1 report by IHH's auditor KPMG.

BLOOMBERG