This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on February 2, 2026 - February 8, 2026

A number of investment banking outfits are understood to be courting Asia OneHealthcare Sdn Bhd (A1Health), formerly known as Columbia Asia Healthcare Sdn Bhd, to take the healthcare company public, in what could be a multi-billion-ringgit exercise.

A check on A1Health’s website shows that it has 41 hospitals and health centres in Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam — with 31 hospitals and chiropractic and rehabilitation service centres under the TAGS banner located in Malaysia’s larger cities; nine hospitals in Indonesia, including in Jakarta, Surabaya, Banten, Medan and Semarang; and one hospital in Bình Bình Du’o’ng in Vietnam.

Some of the more prominent hospitals under A1Health include Cardiac Vascular Sentral Kuala Lumpur (CVSKL), ParkCity Medical Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Hospital Picaso (PJ Integrated Centre of Advanced Surgery and Oncology) in Petaling Jaya and Northern Heart Hospital in Penang.

Its bed count — which is a yardstick for valuations — is not available. Valuations from a couple of years ago for A1Health’s assets are at around RM15 billion.

While a number of market players say they have heard that an initial public offering (IPO) is on the cards for A1Health, a source familiar with the healthcare company says it is unlikely to take place anytime soon.

“Bankers are pitching [for the IPO] on the back of Sunway [Healthcare Holdings Bhd’s] success, but A1Health only acquired Ramsay Sime Darby Health Care Sdn Bhd at end-2023, and effectively concluded the deal in 2024 … Normally, there is a five-year gestation period required before any such plan for an IPO is even considered,” the source says.

This would indicate that an IPO could be on the cards in 2028 or 2029 at the earliest.

Interest has been generated by the IPO of Sunway Healthcare, which is targeted for the first quarter of 2026, and is slated to be the largest flotation exercise this year. Sunway Healthcare received the green light from the regulator, Securities Commission Malaysia, on Dec 5 last year.

The IPO involves up to 1.97 billion shares, comprising an offer for sale of up to 1.39 billion existing shares, representing 12.1% of the enlarged share capital, and a public issue of 575 million new shares, or 5% of the enlarged share capital, to retail and institutional investors. Many of the other details have yet to be made public.

Sunway Healthcare is 84%-owned by Sunway City Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sunway Bhd (KL:SUNWAY), with the remaining 16% stake held by Singapore-based Greenwood Capital Pte Ltd, an affiliate of Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC Private Ltd.

More recently, Sunway Healthcare obtained approvals to keep its free float at 18%, below the mandatory 25% threshold required by the regulators.

In June 2021, GIC paid RM750 million for a 16% stake in Sunway Healthcare, valuing the hospital operator at around RM4.7 billion.

Another reason bankers are pushing for A1Health’s IPO could be the fact that the company has been beefing up its asset base. Any funds obtained from an IPO could be used for this purpose.

In November 2023, A1Health acquired Ramsay Sime Darby Health Care from Sime Darby Bhd (KL:SIME) and its 50:50 joint venture partner Ramsay Health Care Ltd, Australia’s biggest private hospital operator, for RM5.7 billion cash. Ramsay Sime Darby was operating four hospitals in Malaysia and three in Indonesia then.

While the source familiar with A1Health says an IPO is unlikely anytime soon, the decision to float shares would lie with the company’s shareholders.

A1Health is wholly-owned by Asia OneHealthcare Ltd, a joint venture between global buyout firm TPG Capital’s TE Asia Healthcare Partners and billionaire businessman Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan’s Hong Leong group.

In 2019, TPG Capital and Hong Leong group acquired Columbia Asia’s 17 hospitals in Southeast Asia, namely in Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam, for US$1.2 billion (RM5 billion then) .

A search on the Companies Commission of Malaysia website indicates that A1Health had total assets of RM12.33 billion as at end-March 2025 while its total liabilities for the period were pegged at RM3.81 billion. For its financial year ended March 2025, A1Health suffered an after-tax loss of RM428.15 million on the back of RM3.55 billion in revenue.

In FY ended March 2024, A1Health posted after-tax profits of RM155.39 million from RM1.85 billion in revenue. Over the past five financial years,its best showing was in FY ended March 2023 when it reported after-tax profits of RM238.85 million from RM1.27 billion in revenue.

In FY2023 and FY2024, A1Health paid out RM72.25 million in dividends. 

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