Singapore

IHH Healthcare profits surged 56.39% to $29.42m

IHH Healthcare profits surged 56.39% to $29.42m

Parkway Pantai’s revenue climbed 49% to $847.49m. IHH Healthcare began the year on a bright note as its profits climbed 56.30% YoY to $29.42m (MYR89.51m) in Q1 from $18.81m (MYR57.23m) during the same period a year ago. Revenue also jumped 17.19% YoY to $1.20b (MYR3.64b) from $940m (MYR2.85b) in Q1 2018. Revenue from Parkway Pantai, the group’s largest operating subsidiary, rose 49% YoY to $847.49m (MYR2.57b), thanks to the sustained organic growth from existing operations and the continued ramp-up of Gleneagles Hong Kong Hospital, as well as contribution from newly acquired Amanjaya and Fortis. The increase in revenue also included a one-off $9.37m (MYR28.5m) trustee management fee income from RHT relating to the sale of the RHT assets. In Singapore, Parkway Pantai’s inpatient admissions decreased 1.2% to 19,118, but average revenue per inpatient admission grew 7.0% to $10,441 (MYR31,772). Acibadem Holdings, a private healthcare provider in Turkey where IHH owns a 90% stake, saw revenue decline 5% to $317.81m (MYR967.1m). Inpatient admissions decreased 3% to 58,364 but revenue intensity grew 27.2% to $2,660 (MYR8,094) on a combination of price adjustments for patients on private insurance and paying out-of-pocket, taking on more complex cases and an increase in foreign patients. IMU Health, the group’s medical education arm, saw revenue slip 4% to $20.28m (MYR61.7m) mainly due to lower student intake and population for some of its courses. Meanwhile, PLife REIT’s revenue grew 4% to $11.7m (MYR34m) backed by contribution from a nursing rehabilitation facility acquired in February 2018. “Our decisive actions in Turkey to pare down $344.92m (US$250m) of non-Lira debt last month will reduce forex volatility on earnings from the second quarter onwards. In Greater China, we ramped up operations in Gleneagles Hong Kong with new service offerings catering to demand, while the development of Gleneagles Chengdu and Gleneagles Shanghai continues on track,” IHH managing director and CEO Tan See Leng said. In its financial report, IHH said that it will focus on ramping up its existing operations and integrating Fortis in the near to medium term. The group will also increasingly leverage technology to increase its productivity and service offerings, including adopting more advanced medical treatments and to improve clinical outcome.

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NTUC Income unveils life insurance portal and digital adviser

Online Life includes 18 savings and protection plans to choose from. NTUC Income launched Online Life and askSage, a life insurance portal and digital adviser, an announcement revealed. Online Life includes life insurance options for direct purchase beyond the current slew of Direct Purchase Insurance (DPI) options from Income, and integrates with digital adviser, askSage, to help consumers make decisions on financial planning at their convenience. The new platforms cater to consumers of diverse financial savviness by allowing them to access the respective platforms separately. For those who are certain about their financial needs, they can leverage Online Life to select and purchase directly a savings or protection plan based on their preferred budget and policy terms. Meanwhile, those who prefer a financial review and needs analysis prior to purchase can access askSage for self-serve advisory and obtain a shortlist of products for direct purchase on Online Life. NTUC Income said that it has 18 savings and protection plans available on Online Life, of which six are riders, for direct purchase. To complement product diversity, the life insurance portal supports consumers with simple and effective product comparisons to differentiate key product features and benefits to help consumers discover what best suits their financial needs at different life stages. “Consumers can also customise premiums, sum assured and policy duration on the portal to optimise relevant products shortlisted by Online Life, which offers consumers instantaneous quotations of the desired life insurance plan at the same time,” NTUC Income explained, noting that it will take about 15 minutes to complete the application and purchase in the platform, depending on the type of life insurance plan and underwriting requirements. Meanwhile, askSage allows consumers to be guided through a financial review online to facilitate an analysis of their life insurance needs before being offered a shortlist of relevant products. The digital adviser offers 25 Income savings and protection plans, which include six riders for consumers’ consideration.

Funan could bring in $16.5m of rental income to CapitaLand Mall Trust

Its retail segment and office segment are already pre-committed by 90% and 98%, respectively. CapitaLand Mall Trust could finally reap the benefits from its new mall Funan by H2 2019, according to UOBKH analyst Jonathan Koh and Peihao Loke. The mall’s retail net lettable area (NLA) is about 325,000 sqft, of which 90% is already pre-committed, the report noted. Funan also has two grade-A office blocks with NLA of 214,000 sqft that are 98% pre-committed, with key tenants including government agencies Attorney General’s Chambers, the Department of Statistics, and Smart Nation & Digital Government Office, as well as coworking operator WeWork. “Management expects Funan to provide yield-on-cost of 5%. We estimate Funan to contribute rental income of S$16.5m in 3Q19, representing 8% of total gross revenue,” the analysts said. Also read: Should incumbent malls be threatened by Jewel Changi and Funan in 2019? The report also noted that the retail mall is designed to integrate online and offline shopping with data analytics and logistic functions to empower modern retailers’ omni-channel strategy. “It has a 24-hour click-and-collect drive-through supported by warehousing facilities. It deploys automated guided vehicles (AGVs) with laser-based navigation system to pick up purchases from retail shops for temporary storage at click-and-collect boxes (shoppers do not have to carry shopping bags),” they explained. Funan is scheduled to open in June 2019. It is by far 85% larger than its predecessor Funan DigitaLife Mall, which closed on July 2016.

Singapore's digital future is bright but how do companies survive and thrive?

Globalisation, digitalisation and automation are fundamentally changing the way businesses interact with their customers and the way people work. The good news for Singapore is that it is one of Asia’s, if not the world’s, most digitally advanced nations when it comes to digital adoption and transformation.