Malaysia’s Sunway sets sights on regional expansion

SINCE its launch more than 50 years ago, Sunway Group has made its name building sprawling new townships in Malaysia. But across the Causeway in Singapore, the group remains under the radar – a gap Sunway is working to bridge as it looks to expand its regional footprint.

In an interview with The Business Times, Sunway executive deputy chair Sarena Cheah highlighted the group’s transformation from a tin mining and quarrying company to one of Malaysia’s largest conglomerates with a combined market capitalisation of over RM40 billion (S$12.1 billion).

She pointed to the group’s real estate, construction and healthcare units as linchpins of its business. Currently, the three segments contribute some 85 per cent of its pretax profit. 

Sunway is also arranging an initial public offering (IPO) of its healthcare business – expected sometime this year or next year. A Bloomberg report said the company is looking to raise RM3 billion to RM4 billion, based on a valuation of RM20 billion. This would be Malaysia’s biggest IPO in a decade.

“We hope to build on this foundation moving forward in our next 50 years,” said Cheah. “With years of experience and expertise built, good stakeholder backing, recognition from regional players, I think we are ripe to go (international).” 

She cited South-east Asia and China as promising markets with its burgeoning middle class. “The governments are very pro-growth,” she added.