Azlan (second from left) and Loh (left) at the SGX ceremony to celebrate the group’s 10th anniversary with partners and stakeholders on Sept 29, 2022.
A DECADE has passed since IHH Healthcare was dual-listed on the main boards of the Malaysia and Singapore stock exchanges. As a close party to the company’s immense growth since its initial public offering, IHH chairman Tan Sri Mohammed Azlan got revved up as he spoke about this milestone year and what it signals for the company’s journey ahead.
“We have been caring for patients for nearly 50 years and that’s something to be proud of. Beyond living our purpose of ‘Touching Lives, Transforming Care’, we are now focusing on our aspiration to Care. For Good.,” he says. ‘Care. For Good’ is IHH Healthcare’s aspiration, guiding its strategy to build a sustainable business.
While the financial health and growth of the business remains a priority in the post-Covid environment, to Azlan, IHH’s moral compass is equally important in setting the group’s future course in Malaysia and globally.
“For us, this means doubling down on the ‘care’ in healthcare and also to create a sustainable future for generations to come. And we do this by providing greater good to our patients, our people, the public and our planet.”
Uplifting communities in Malaysia
In addition to providing onsite Covid-19 testing services in homes and companies, Pantai Premier Pathology offered hospital drive-throughs as another Covid-19 testing service in Malaysia.
As a global leader in integrated healthcare, IHH believes in making a positive impact on the local communities it serves by leveraging its strong medical resources and partnerships.
This can be seen through the undertakings of seven hospitals across the IHH Malaysia network including Pantai Hospital Kuala Lumpur, Gleneagles Hospital Kuala Lumpur and Prince Court Medical Centre – where advanced cancer treatments using gamma knife and linear accelerator (Linac) are available.
This initiative is an extension of IHH’s longstanding Life Renewed programme that has helped more than 2,000 underserved patients in Malaysia since 2012. “We have the medical expertise, tools, geographical network and most importantly, the heart to build healthier communities – so it’s clear to us this is the right thing to do,” says Azlan.
Dr Kelvin Loh, IHH’s managing director and chief executive officer, adds, “We see ourselves as an integral part of the social healthcare fabric and communities we are present in. No matter where we are, we always look for ways to give back.”
As one of the largest private healthcare providers in Malaysia, IHH operates a network of 16 hospitals comprising four Gleneagles Hospitals, 11 Pantai Hospitals and Prince Court Medical Centre. It also provides ancillary services through Pantai Integrated Rehab and Pantai Premier Pathology and primary care services under Twin Towers Medical Centre.
Its education arm, IMU Health, comprises International Medical University (IMU), International Medical College (IMC) and IMU Healthcare outpatient services.
Making trust the core of its business
Saying that IHH’s business is built on trust is no misnomer.
Even when Covid-19 was raging in Malaysia, IHH was among the first healthcare providers to mobilise its hospitals and laboratories to support the government’s pandemic efforts.
By conducting Covid-19 tests, administering vaccines for frontliners and the public and treating Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 patients, it has not only saved lives, but also earned the trust of the communities it operates in.
The unprecedented crisis saw business at IHH plunge by almost 80%, pushing the company into the red for the first time in many years. Yet not once did the global healthcare group – which operates 82 hospitals in 10 countries – deviate from its “true north”.
And because of that, IHH has come out of the pandemic stronger than ever. The company improved its return on equity from 2.8% in March 2020 to 8.8% in August 2022. Meanwhile, it registered a 27% year-on-year increase in net income in Q2 2022.
In February this year, IHH announced its Care. For Good. strategy, anchored on building trust, delivering on global synergies, a compelling sustainability plan and five growth engines namely, recovering from Covid-19, generating organic growth, acquiring strategic assets, developing its laboratory business, and driving digital transformation.
“The strategy embodies everything that IHH stands for – our focus on making healthcare better, faster, easier and more affordable for our patients, our ambition to be the best employer by creating an empowering and inclusive workplace for our employees, our commitment to work with like-minded partners to elevate communities and our determination to protect the planet we live in for future generations,” says Dr Loh.
Recounting a personal encounter, Dr Loh said: “I was in the hospital on a Friday when I saw a nurse tending to a five-year-old boy undergoing chemotherapy.
“When I was back the next day, I saw the same nurse there outside walking the boy back and forth with his chemo pump, on her off day no less.
“She said she had come in to see him and it was worthwhile just to see his smile.
“That, to me, is what ‘Care. For Good.’ is about – and it’s what we want IHH and every single person who works in each of our hospitals to be known for.”
KKLIU no.: 3395/2022
Expiry: Dec 31, 2024
