Malaysia’s Biggest IPO in Years: Everything You Need to Know About Sunway Healthcare

Estimated reading time: 14 minutes

If you’ve been following the news recently, you’ve probably noticed one name coming up again and again, Sunway. From expansion updates to major corporate developments, they’ve been very active.

But the biggest headline right now is this. Sunway Healthcare just went public. 

And this is not Sunway Berhad, not the REIT, and not the construction arm that you already know. This is their healthcare division, which is actually one of the largest private hospital groups in Malaysia.

So how big are we talking about?

• Estimated valuation: around RM16 billion
• Potentially Malaysia’s largest IPO since Lotte Chemical Titan in 2017
• Main Market listing in a defensive sector

Before jumping in just because of the Sunway name, let’s break down what you are actually investing in.

Background?

i) Other Sunway’s Listed Companies

To understand Sunway Healthcare Holdings properly, we need to zoom out and look at the broader Sunway group.

Sunway already has several listed companies:

• Sunway Berhad
• Sunway REIT
• Sunway Construction

All three have been managed effectively and have grown steadily where you see solid fundamentals, with earnings consistency and gradual stock price appreciation over time. So naturally, when Sunway decides to spin off its healthcare arm, the markets are highly anticipating it.

Want to study all the Sunway-listed entities in detail? Use the moomoo app. It’s SC-licensed and makes the research part way less painful.

Here’s how you can explore it yourself:

1. Quick Search:

2. Check Valuations:

3. Side-by-Side Comparison:

4. Moomoo AI:

🛈 AI-generated content does not constitute investment advice or guarantee accuracy. Use at your own risk or consult with a licensed advisor.

ii) Sunway Healthcare

Now, let’s look at Sunway Healthcare itself. Their flagship hospital in Bandar Sunway is a quaternary hospital, which is just a fancy way of saying they handle the most complex surgeries and specialized treatments at the highest level.

Over time, the group has expanded into multiple facilities, specialist centres and even senior living services.

Looking at the numbers:

• Around 60 percent of revenue comes from inpatient services
• This matters because inpatient cases involve surgeries and longer stays, which generate higher revenue
• Revenue nearly doubled from 2022 to 2024
• Gross profit margin is about 64 percent (This shows they are growing while maintaining strong profitability)

Why Healthcare is “Different”?

Source: Bernama

Healthcare behaves differently from sectors like property or construction.

When the economy slows, people may delay buying a house. But for serious medical treatment, people usually do not delay spending.

On top of that, Malaysia is expected to become an aging nation by 2048. This means demand for private healthcare is likely to increase over the long term.

However, hospitals are very capital intensive. Building facilities, buying equipment, and hiring specialists all require continuous investment. That is one of the main reasons Sunway Healthcare is raising funds through this IPO.

Medical Tourism & Robotic Surgery

Another important growth driver is medical tourism. In 2024, Malaysia recorded about 1.6 million healthcare travellers, generating roughly RM2.7 billion in revenue.

Indonesia makes up the largest portion at nearly 65%, followed by China and India.

Even for complex procedures like cardiac surgery, Malaysia can be significantly cheaper than countries like Singapore, while still maintaining high standards.

Historically, most medical tourists came for routine screenings. But now, the focus is shifting. Growth is moving toward high-complexity cases like oncology and transplants, which usually means higher revenue per patient.And this is where technology comes in. Sunway was one of the earlier hospitals in Malaysia to adopt robotic-assisted surgery. In areas like urology and oncology, that kind of capability allows them to handle more advanced cases and attract specialists who want to work with that level of equipment.

IPO Information

Now in terms of the offering itself, Sunway Healthcare is issuing a combination of 575 million new shares and offer-for-sale of 1.39 billion existing shares, bringing the total shares offered to the public to 1.97 billion.  Based on the prospectus, the IPO price has been set at RM 1.45 per share, which translates into total proceeds of approximately RM 2.86 billion.

One important detail to note is that a large portion of the IPO comes from existing shareholders selling their shares. This means not all of the proceeds are going into the company for expansion.

• 27th February: IPO officially launches (Retail applications open).
• 5th March: Applications close. 
• 18th March: Listing Day. This is when the stock debut in the Main Market and everyone can start trading it.

A typical IPO timeline (like this one) is actually quite short, so the next time you’re eyeing on any new fresh IPO, you have to move fast!

Dividend Payout Ratio

For those wondering about “pocket money,” the company has targeted a dividend payout of up to 30 percent of net profit. Compared to peers like IHH or KPJ, this is slightly lower. But that is mainly because healthcare requires ongoing investment.

So this isn’t really a typical high-yield stock. It’s more of a growth-focused healthcare stock, with some income on the side.

Where is the IPO Proceed Going?

i) Hospital Expansion & Bed Capacity

A large portion of the funds will go into expansion.

They plan to expand existing hospitals and open new ones in locations like Seremban, Iskandar Puteri, and Putrajaya.

• Current capacity: around 2,000 beds
• Target: over 3,400 beds by 2032

Scale also improves bargaining power with insurance companies, especially as the industry moves toward fixed pricing models.

Part of the funds will also go into medical technology, which is necessary to compete with larger players like IHH and KPJ.

ii) Medical Technology

Part of the proceeds will also go into advanced medical technology. In private healthcare, attracting top doctors and handling complex cases depends heavily on having the right infrastructure. And if they want to compete with players like IHH and KPJ, underinvesting in technology is simply not an option.

Peer Comparisons

Now comes the most important question. Is it worth the price?

Based on initial estimates, Sunway Healthcare is listing at around 36 times EV to EBITDA. In simple terms, this is a valuation metric investors use to judge how expensive a company is.

Compared to many local and regional healthcare companies, this is on the higher side. This means the current price already assumes the company will continue growing strongly in the future.

To be fair, there are reasons for this:

• New hospitals reached breakeven in under a year, which is much faster than the typical 3 to 5 years in this industry
• Faster breakeven usually leads to better returns on capital
• They also generate higher revenue per bed compared to peers, which suggests a stronger focus on complex, higher-value treatments

If you want to explore these companies further, you can use tools like the moomoo app to compare their financials and valuations:

1. Search for ‘Sunway Healthcare’ (once the data is live)
2. Go to ‘Company’ > ‘Company Valuation’
3. Use the ‘Compare’ tool to stack SHH against its direct rivals, IHH and KPJ

On top of that, they’re actually generating more per bed compared to peers like IHH Healthcare and KPJ Healthcare.

• Sunway: ~RM1.3m per bed
• IHH: ~RM1.2m
• KPJ: ~RM0.9m

This usually means they’re handling more complex, higher-value cases and have stronger positioning in specialised treatments.

But at the end of the day, a good company does not always mean a good investment if the price is already high.

Tutorial: Opening a Moomoo account?

If you are planning to apply for the next upcoming IPOs, you will need a platform that supports IPO subscriptions. Personally, I use moomoo since it supports digital IPO applications, which makes things much easier.

If you don’t already have an account, just go ahead and register one first. The process is pretty standard, you’ll go through identity verification and some basic onboarding, and approval usually takes a few working days. So it’s better not to leave this to the last minute.

If you want, you can also use the code “ZIET11” during sign-up to get some extra rewards like free Apple shares. Not a must, but just something extra if you’re already planning to open an account anyway. So if you’ve decided to participate, here’s how you can apply.

Step 2: Activate Your CDS-IPO Account

Once your trading account is live, there is one more “must-do” step. By default, Moomoo uses a nominee account. To apply for an IPO directly, you need to activate your CDS-IPO account.

Step to activate:

Take note the process takes 1 to 3 business days for approval. So do this as soon as possible if you don’t want to miss this IPO!

Step 3: Subscribing to Sunway Healthcare

Once your CDS-IPO account is green-lit, you’re ready for the main event.

The Process:

Why use Moomoo for this?

Moomoo gives advantages for individual investors like you and I by offering up to 4x leverage financing to boost your subscription amount. That means you can subscribe for more Sunway Healthcare IPO shares than your cash balance allows, even using existing assets as collateral.

What Happens After You Apply?

Applying doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to get the shares. It goes to a ballot (usually 2-3 days after the deadline) 

• If you WIN: Moomoo deducts the funds, credits the shares to your CDS-IPO account, and automatically moves them to your Universal Account before listing day.
• If you LOSE: (The IPO is oversubscribed and you don’t get an allotment) Your funds are refunded in full.

And Moomoo is the best because it doesn’t charge any transaction fees for the refund.

What’s next? (Outcome analysis)

So let’s say you applied… what happens next?

If you get an allotment, congratulations. You are in before the stock starts trading. IPO stocks can be quite volatile on day one, so it’s important to have a plan. You can use features on moomoo such as trailing stop orders to help lock in profits while still capturing any upside.

If you didn’t get any shares, don’t worry. You can still enter on listing day. Before the market opens, you can check the Theoretical Opening Price (TOP). If the price is trending up, it usually signals strong demand. You can consider placing a buy order slightly below that level to get a better entry.

And if you feel IPOs are a bit too risky, another option is to park your funds in Moomoo Cash Plus to earn around 3.5% per year, which is currently boosted up to 6% for new users. You can also turn on SmartSave, so your idle cash is automatically deployed and redeemed when needed.

Final Thought

Overall, the Sunway Healthcare IPO is easily Malaysia’s most anticipated listing. It gives investors that rare opportunity to buy into a company offering both defensive stability and serious growth potential at the same time.

Looking at how hot the IPO market was in 2025, a debut this big in 2026 is definitely something you want on your radar to catch that upward momentum.

If you’ve done your research and want a piece of this, don’t wait around. IPO shares dry up fast. Get your Moomoo account sorted right now. And before you deposit, punch in my code “ZIET11” to unlock your free Apple shares and cash coupons. The campaign won’t last forever, so take advantage of it. If you prefer a video version of this article, I have made a video covering the exact same thing – do check it out here! Thanks for reading!

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