KUALA LUMPUR, July 13 — Trading in the shares of IHH Healthcare Bhd was halted as of 9.22am today.
The private healthcare group's shares were last traded at RM5.95, down two sen from yesterday's close of RM5.97, with 7,000 shares transacted.
In a filing to Bursa Malaysia, IHH Healthcare said its shares would resume trading from 2.30pm.
The group also announced that its indirect wholly-owned unit, Northern TK Venture Pte Ltd, has proposed to subscribe to approximately 31.1 per cent in India chain of specialist hospitals Fortis Healthcare Limited for RM2.35 billion.
It also proposed an open offer for public shareholders of Fortis Malar Hospital at a price as determined under the substantial acquisition of shares and takeovers regulations.
“The proposals represent an opportunity for IHH to further expand its growth footprint in India, given India’s tremendous growth potential with the rising demand for quality private healthcare.
“It is expected to propel IHH to become a leading Pan-Indian hospital operator, operating more than 5,400 beds in 37 hospitals. India is IHH’s fourth home market after successful re-calibration of IHH’s growth strategy in India to focus on inorganic growth,” it said.
IHH Healthcare also said the Indian healthcare market is expected to grow significantly given improving gross domestic product per capita, a growing middle class, increasing awareness of health insurance and low current per capita bed count. — Bernama
