Township and property developer, S P Setia Berhad through its subsidiary Setia HC Ventures Sdn Bhd enters into an agreement with Qualitas Medical Group Sdn Bhd on the intention to develop and operate an Ambulatory Care Centre in Setia Alam, Shah Alam.

“This is the first venture by the Group into healthcare, which is a growing business, given the market trend,” said Datuk Choong Kai Wai, President & CEO of S P Setia Berhad Group. The ACCs are outpatient centres providing a range of comprehensive specialist and surgical services including wellness, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation. They will act as a bridge between full-fledged medical centres and general practice clinics.

S P Setia is looking to tap into the growing ageing population in the country, a recent World Bank report stated that more than 7% of the country’s population was aged 65 and above in 2020. This is projected to double to 14% by 2044, making Malaysia an aged society and 20% by 2056, a super-aged society. Malaysia’s healthcare market is expected to grow by 127% to RM127.9bil in 2027 from RM56.3bil in 2017 as the government pushes ahead with higher public healthcare expenditure, according to Fitch Solutions Macro Research, fuelled by increasing demand for healthcare services and the emergence of new care models beyond traditional hospital settings.

For its centre, the group identified the first ACC to be established at Setia City Residences in Setia Alam, a three-tower integrated mixed-development that has residential and commercial components. It is also connected via a link bridge to Setia City Mall.

This comes as developers have been looking out for new avenues of income after the property market got impacted in the pandemic, while the outlook for the sector looks cautionary, larger developers have been actively diversifying their investment.

On the partnership with Qualitas, it was selected due to its expertise in operating and managing outpatient centres. Qualitas is a regional healthcare operator with more than 20 years of experience. It is well established in Malaysia, Singapore and Australia, with a growing presence in the Asia Pacific region.