Sunway Healthcare Holdings Bhd, the GIC-backed unit of Malaysian billionaire Jeffrey Cheah’s Sunway Group, began trading on Bursa Malaysia on Wednesday, becoming the largest listing in the country in almost a decade.
The company’s shares opened at 1.7 ringgit on the mainboard, 17% higher than the offer price of 1.45 ringgit apiece.
The proposed offer price implies a price-earnings (P/E) multiple of nearly 65x, representing a significant premium to IHH Healthcare, the region’s largest private hospital operator, which trades at around 37x. IHH operates a network of more than 80 hospitals across 10 countries, while Sunway Healthcare operates five private hospitals and a network of facilities across Malaysia.
GIC’s stake in Sunway Healthcare stands diluted to 7.5% from 16% following the initial public offering. The fund originally acquired a 16% interest for 750 million ringgit ($191 million) in 2021, in a transaction that valued the hospital operator at around $1.1 billion.
The IPO’s retail tranche was 5.57 times oversubscribed ahead of the listing, while the institutional tranche of 1.62 billion IPO shares was also fully subscribed. The offering attracted 20 cornerstone investors, who took up 52.6% of the institutional shares, while the remaining shares offered through bookbuilding drew more than 11.7 billion ringgit ($3 billion) in demand.
The company was planning to raise gross proceeds of approximately 833.8 million ringgit ($183 million), which will primarily fund hospital expansion, redeem Sukuk Wakalah, and cover IPO-related fees.
Its revenue for the year ended Dec. 31, 2025, rose to 2.20 billion ringgit ($468 million) from 1.85 billion ringgit a year earlier, while EBITDA climbed 9% to 510.4 million ringgit ($130 million). Profit attributable to owners was 252.2 million ringgit ($64.1 million), slightly below the 257.5 million ringgit ($65.5 million) recorded in 2024, partly due to costs incurred on newly opened hospitals.
Sunway Healthcare’s first-time share sale comes as Malaysia’s equity markets have improved the momentum from last year, with heightened IPO activity providing private investors an avenue for liquidity despite the broader geopolitical uncertainty. Malaysia led the region in IPO activity, recording 48 listings that raised $1.1 billion, primarily on the ACE Market in 2025.
Indonesia’s equity markets have been under pressure since the start of the year, with the Jakarta Composite Index experiencing sharp selloffs and significant foreign capital outflows as investors reacted to risks including concerns over credit ratings, governance issues, and MSCI’s warning of a potential downgrade.
The Thai market has also been volatile since the Middle-East conflict erupted, with investors reacting to rising oil prices and heightened risk sentiment by selling risk assets and seeking safer havens, putting pressure on regional equities and currencies.
Eroding sentiment
The high‑profile listing comes amid the backdrop of the Iran war, which has hit many private equity‑backed IPOs across the Asia‑Pacific region.
India, one of the world’s hottest IPO destinations, is already showing signs of cooling as fears about weak currencies and slow economic growth are worrying investors. General Atlantic-backed PhonePe on Monday said it has paused its IPO plan, citing geopolitical tensions and volatility in global capital markets. Clean Max Enviro Solutions, backed by Brookfield and Temasek, is already trading about 15% below its IPO price after its debut on NSE in early March.
KBank, one of South Korea’s largest digital lenders, is trading about 15% below its IPO price, after listing on the local exchange at the top of its marketed range. Although its backers, Bain Capital and MBK Partners, were able to pocket half of the 498 billion won ($330 million) proceeds, the outcome fell short of expectations, particularly after the IPO faced multiple delays from its initial 2022 target.
Sunway Healthcare, however, remains cautiously optimistic about its business performance in 2026 amid demand for private healthcare, stabilising performance at newly opened hospitals, and continued efforts to optimise capacity and efficiency.
“The recent Iran war may indirectly affect Malaysia’s healthcare sector by disrupting global supply chains for medical-related supplies and raising costs due to geopolitical uncertainty and higher oil prices,” the company said, adding that Malaysia’s diversified supply network and strong healthcare system are expected to support stable service delivery.
