S'pore billionaire to buy 10ha from Johor royal family

Star: PETALING JAYA: Singapore billionaire Peter Lim, dubbed the “Remisier King”, has signed a deal with the Johor royal family to acquire 10ha in Johor for the development of a medical hub and a marina city.
The joint venture company behind the development is Best Blend Sdn Bhd, which Lim owns 70%, and the royal family owns 30%. Lim is ranked by Forbes business magazine as Singapore's eighth wealthiest individual with a fortune of S$1.8bil.
“The cost of the medical hub is estimated at S$200mil and the total development cost could range from S$1bil to S$2bil. The medical hub will be funded through a mixture of debt and equity,” said Koh Kim Huat, a director of Best Blend.
The hospital, when completed, will be managed by Thomson International Health Services, the consultancy and management division of Thomson Medical Pte Ltd.
Singapore-listed Thomson Medical was taken private by Lim last year. It is described as a leading healthcare service provider in Singapore for obstetrics, gynaecology and paediatric service.
The site of this hub is located at Bandar Johor Baru, and is within close proximity to Johor's new royal customs, immigration and quarantine complex as well as Singapore's Woodlands checkpoint.
The first phase of the project will see the construction of a medical hub which will include a private hospital and healthcare-related facilities and also supporting facilities including serviced apartments, a mega shopping mall and a mega fully secured car park. A special feature of the complex is a state-of-the-art security deterrence and detection systems.
The 200-bed general hospital will house centres of excellence for diabetes, orthopaedics, ophthalmology, women's health, and a state-of-the-art day surgery centre.
“The medical hub will provide quality private healthcare at affordable prices to Singaporeans and Malaysians,” said Koh.
When asked whether TMC Life Sciences would be involved in the medical hub, Koh said there were no plans at this point.
Lim made headlines in Malaysia last year when he bought a substantial stake in TMC Life Sciences Bhd, a private healthcare group which is popular for its fertility treatments. Lim is now the largest shareholder of TMC with 32.59% stake.
Koh said fertility would be one of the key focus segments of the hospital. Among others, the focus for the hub will be the treatment of chronic and lifestyle diseases associated with growing affluence and which afflicts increasing numbers of Malaysians. The hub aims to provide a one-stop centre for chronic disease management of diabetic patients. A training school will be set up for nurses and medical technicians.