Country Heights Holdings Bhd intends to convert the Palace of the Golden Horses in Seri Kembangan, Selangor, into a wellness hotel aimed at domestic and international tourists.
The group's founder and major shareholder, Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew, plans to add a rehab centre with facilities to help people boost their immune systems and self-healing abilities.
"We're considering several options, including establishing a confinement centre. Outsiders visiting Malaysia will not simply be staying in a hotel. Within the hotel complex, they can have their wellness and well-being rebuilt. Since the Covid-19 outbreak, we've seen increased interest in this area.
"In fact, we never closed the Palace of the Golden Horses during the pandemic, as some have claimed. We have always opened the medical tourism side for prevention. Our traditional Chinese medicine was a big hit. We're watching now how things unfold after Covid," he said.
Lee spoke today at the Mines Resort & Golf Club after hosting the Tiong Hua Media Dialogue and Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration.
Palace of the Golden Horses is one of Malaysia's most unique hotels, with its golden chariot entry piece and tasteful, attention-to-detail décor.
Country Heights built it in the 1990s on a deserted mining pit (Sungei Besi Mine), along with other properties such as the Mines Wellness Hotel, The Mines Shopping Mall, and the Mines Exhibition & Convention Centre, for recreational and tourism purposes.
The four-star hotel closed partially in 2020 for a major facelift and reopened on January 1, 2021.
Country Heights, according to Lee, is poised to perform better in the coming quarters, owing to its new retail business and pipeline property launches.
According to him, the group intends to build 10,000 double-storey houses over the next five years.
The units will be available for purchase by the general public for between RM500,000 and RM1 million.
He said that the first project would begin in Kedah, with the launch scheduled for the end of this year.
"Datuk Jared Lim, the managing director of Country Heights, has outlayed all the prospects for the group this year. I believe we will meet the quarterly targets," he said.
Country Heights reported a net profit of RM2.03 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2022, compared to a net loss of RM5.17 million in the prior year's corresponding quarter, owing to improved performance across its business segments.
Revenue for the quarter increased 19 per cent year on year to RM9.25 million from RM7.75 million.
The group said its healthcare, resorts and hospitality, exhibition and convention, and property divisions performed better, with several segments returning to profitability.