This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on June 16, 2025 - June 22, 2025
REGIONAL healthcare provider Qualitas Health Group (QHG) is exploring an initial public offering (IPO) on Bursa Malaysia, sources say, in what could be one of the largest on the bourse in recent years.
The group, which has operations in Singapore, Malaysia and Australia, has reached out to investment banks on the matter, at least two sources with knowledge of the matter tell The Edge.
Interestingly, earlier this month QHG appointed former Bursa Malaysia Bhd (KL:BURSA) CEO Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift as its group CEO. He is tasked with overseeing QHG’s operations in the three countries while exploring new markets in Asean.
Muhamad Umar, who turned 60 this year, retired from the stock exchange operator in March after six years at its helm.
“It’s not yet known how much QHG plans to raise, but this is not a small IPO. It will be in the billions, at least RM3 billion or RM4 billion,” one source estimates.
The funds raised are understood to be mainly for expansion purposes.
QHG officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
For perspective, the biggest IPO in recent times is that of 99 Speed Mart Retail Holdings Bhd (KL:99SMART), which raised a total of RM2.36 billion, including RM1.7 billion from an offer for sale by the convenience store chain operator’s founder and his wife. Listed on Sept 9 last year, it was the country’s largest IPO in seven years.
There are already several healthcare groups listed on Bursa Malaysia, including IHH Healthcare Bhd (KL:IHH), KPJ Healthcare Bhd (KL:KPJ) and TMC Life Sciences Bhd (KL:TMCLIFE).
Also to come is the highly anticipated IPO of Sunway Healthcare Group, which, according to a source, is likely to take place “early next year”. Maybank Investment Bank and AmInvestment Bank are the joint principal advisers for the exercise, with a slew of other banks working on the deal. It is expected to be one of the largest IPOs in recent years, according to reports.
There is also market talk that hospital operator Asia OneHealthcare (formerly known as Columbia Asia Healthcare) plans to go for listing before end-2026.
QHG, founded in 1997, has expanded over the years to become one of the more recognised names in comprehensive healthcare. It operates general practice and dental clinics, medical imaging centres, therapy and rehabilitation centres, ambulatory care centres, specialist eyecare centres and retail chain pharmacies.
As at end-2024, the group owned 135 facilities in Malaysia, 53 in Australia and 29 in Singapore, along with 151 affiliate and associate clinics in Malaysia, according to RAM Ratings. These were grown organically and also through acquisitions. Last August, QHG brought Vista Eye Specialist into the fold. Vista had 13 clinics in Malaysia at that point in time.
QHG is now looking at its next growth phase and is understood to be pursuing more aggressive expansion.
“Over the next few years, the group is set to accelerate its pace of expansion via acquisitions of brownfield healthcare chains and clinics. These acquisitions, targeted to total up to S$156 million by fiscal 2027, are primarily focused in Malaysia and Singapore,” RAM Ratings said in a report on March 26 in relation to the Qualitas group, which was undergoing a corporate reorganisation at the time.
It adds, “While we view this pace as aggressive, we derive comfort from Qualitas’ experienced management and M&A (merger and acquisition) teams that have a proven track record of successful acquisitions and operations thereafter. These brownfield facilities are expected to be readily earnings-accretive.”
Although QHG is eyeing an IPO, industry sources say they would not rule out the possibility of a management buyout or sale of a strategic stake in QHG to investors. “They had been looking at these options for some years,” one says.
The group’s biggest shareholders are its founder and executive chairman Datuk Dr Noorul Ameen Mohamed Ishack, who is a qualified medical practitioner, and Southern Capital Group. Together, they own a 78.7% stake in Singapore entity Qualitas Medical Ltd, while Sojitz Corp — a Japanese investment holding company — holds the remaining 21.3% stake, according to RAM Ratings.
The group had twice before attempted a listing but was unsuccessful. In 2014, it was said to be seeking RM1 billion from an IPO in Malaysia; and, in 2018, it was reported to be eyeing a listing in Singapore. The group, through Qualitas Medical, was listed on Singapore’s Catalist Board in 2008 but was subsequently delisted in June 2011.
Qualitas Medical saw revenue of S$215.6 million in 2023, of which S$101.6 million was derived from Australia, S$57.6 million from Malaysia and S$56.4 million from Singapore, according to the RAM Ratings report. Its normalised earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda), that year stood at S$48.6 million, of which S$24.6 million was from Australia, S$11 million from Malaysia and S$13 million from Singapore.
In the previous year, its revenue and normalised Ebitda were S$192.4 million and S$41.8 million respectively.
Timing is critical for upcoming IPOs — including a potential one by QHG — amid heightened market volatility driven by uncertainty over possible US tariff actions.
New listings on Bursa Malaysia now face an “uphill battle” to sustain buying interest as investors turn increasingly picky amid receding risk appetite, Mercury Securities noted in late April.
“Looking ahead, we continue to expect the IPO activity to remain steady but highly quality-sensitive, driven by the selected investor risk appetite amid an increasingly uncertain market environment,” the research house wrote.
As at June 11, there were 28 new listings on Bursa Malaysia — five on the Main Market, 22 on the ACE Market and one on the LEAP Market. Six of the 14 new listings since April have closed at a discount to their IPO price on their maiden day of trade.
Last year, there were 55 new listings (11 Main Market, 40 ACE and four LEAP) — a record high — compared with 32 in 2023.
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