Country Heights Holdings Bhd (CHHB) has set aside RM100 million in capital expenditures (capex) to expand its wellness segment, which has been profitable despite the Covid-19 pandemic.
The wellness segment, according to group founder and major shareholder Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew, was a top performer throughout the viral pandemic.
He anticipates a three- to four-fold increase in the business in the near future.
"This market has enormous potential. We want to shift the focus of our group wellness business to wellness tourism, since it has a wider market than medical tourism, which is what we have been doing for many years," he said.
According to Lee, the wellness industry's top performers are the spa, rehabilitation, and aesthetics businesses.
He said that this business has a sizable market because it necessitates extended periods of rest for patients seeking therapy.
"Treatment could take one to two weeks, but when it comes to wellness tourism, it may take months, which is why we are trying to champion wellness tourism," he said after the group's shareholder meeting today.
GHHS Healthcare, the healthcare subsidiary of Country Heights Holdings Bhd, is Malaysia's first preventive healthcare concept.
It offers Western Medical Screening Technology and Integrated Wellness Treatment with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Japanese Wellness and Korean Beauty, Modern European Wellness, and German and Swiss Regenerative Medicine.
GHHS Healthcare is expanding its Yunohana Wellness Spa by adding a DocLab aesthetic clinic at Mines Wellness City in Seri Kembangan.
Yunohana Wellness Spa is the new beauty and wellness division of GHHS Healthcare. Situated on the first floor of the Palace of the Golden Horses hotel's west wing, it provides soothing treatments for beauty, detoxification, and therapeutic remedies.
The license to operate the DocLab cosmetic clinic will be provided by DocLab, which is well-known in Asia, particularly in South Korea.
Lee said further expansion includes launching a TCM hospital in the second half of this year, and a confinement centre in 2023.
GHHS Healthcare reported a profit of RM3.23 million in 2021, on the back of a turnover of RM26.72 million.
Regarding the RM100 million capex, Lee said that the money would be raised through the issuance of shares, the sale of assets, and joint ventures with prospective partners.
Country Heights aims to monetise its property stocks via the CHHB sales programme and has set a target sales amount of RM300 million.
"Although we have many significant assets, we don't have a lot of liquidity. Liquidity is a challenge as we move from the Covid-19 impact to the recovery stage. We hope that banks will look at their assessment and evaluation methods when funding a company, and not just based on cash flow alone," he said.