It will cost 1 billion renminbi (S$185.3 million) to develop and equip

 

INTEGRATED real estate and healthcare player Perennial Holdings will open and operate China&rsquo s first entirely foreign-owned hospital in Tianjin, the group announced on Monday (Dec 16).

 

The 500-bed Perennial General Hospital Tianjin has passed a hospital inspection by Tianjin&rsquo s Municipal Health Commission and obtained a medical institution practice license.

 

This comes as China in November announced it would allow the establishment of wholly owned foreign hospitals in nine regions, aimed at diversifying medical services for locals and foreigners living in the country.

 

Perennial General Hospital Tianjin, which cost 1 billion renminbi (S$185.3 million) to develop and equip, will utilise an asset-light co-medical space for doctors and medical groups, allowing doctors to use shared facilities provided by Perennial. These facilities include an advanced operating theatre, diagnostic imaging and a clinical laboratory.

 

Pua Seck Guan, executive chair and chief executive of Perennial, said: &ldquo Our unique asset-light co-medical space concept for doctors and medical groups with different partnership models, allows us to embrace many medical professionals and build an extensive and sustainable ecosystem to further the growth of our healthcare business in China.&rdquo

 

The hospital will also have a specialist medical team for several disciplines, including oncology, orthopedics and ophthalmology.

 

Said Pua: &ldquo Perennial General Hospital Tianjin will pave the way to draw more foreign patients seeking private medical treatments in Tianjin, thereby raising the country&rsquo s medical industry&rsquo s international standing and driving the growth of Tianjin&rsquo s medical tourism industry.&rdquo

 

Perennial&rsquo s new hospital is part of the medical cluster at the Perennial International Healthcare and Business City in Tianjin, located close to the Tianjin South High-Speed Railway station.

 

Perennial in September announced the S$1 billion business city had completed the construction of its medical cluster, which comprises three hospitals with over 1,000 beds across four hospitals &ndash Perennial General Hospital Tianjin, secondary rehabilitation hospital Perennial Rehabilitation Hospital Tianjin and tertiary brain hospital Eber Perennial Brain Hospital.

 

A fourth hospital, the 300-bed Perennial Nursing Hospital Tianjin, is part of the development&rsquo s eldercare component, which has been in operation since June 2024. The project&rsquo s hospitality cluster with four hotels opened in September.

 

China&rsquo s new healthcare policy

Perennial&rsquo s wholly owned hospital comes after China said it would allow foreign entities to own hospitals in nine regions in China.

 

China&rsquo s National Health Commission said these regions &ndash Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Nanjing, Suzhou, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hainan &ndash will import high-level medical resources, enrich domestic medical services and see an enhanced business environment.

 

Specific conditions and procedures will also be laid out for the establishment of these wholly owned foreign hospitals.

 

For example, the hospitals have to be general, speciality or rehabilitation hospitals at a tertiary level they must connect to the local medical service regulatory platform and must employ no less than 50 per cent of the hospital&rsquo s management and medical technically staff from China.

 

Previously, China only allowed hospitals jointly funded by Chinese and foreign agencies. Other South-east Asian players with hospitals in China include Singapore&rsquo s Raffles Medical : BSL -1.17% and Malaysia&rsquo s IHH Healthcare : Q0F -0.92%.

 

On this move, Perennial&rsquo s Pua said: &ldquo This forward-looking policy sends a strong positive signal to the international investment community, boosts confidence for investors keen on China&rsquo s healthcare space and drives foreign investments and foreign-local collaborations given the growth prospects of China.&rdquo

 

Perennial said its development will cater to healthy residents, those with mild dementia, as well as seniors requiring nursing needs. 

 

SINGAPORE &ndash Singapore&rsquo s pilot private assisted-living project with senior-friendly features in Parry Avenue has been awarded to a subsidiary of Perennial Holdings, which submitted two concept proposals and beat two other developers with the highest bid of $71.988 million.

 

The award of the Parry Avenue site marks &ldquo a giant step towards the next stage of maturity for the senior living market&rdquo , said Mr Lam Chern Woon, head of research and consulting at property consulting firm Edmund Tie.

 

&ldquo All four concept bids for the site were deemed acceptable by the authorities, which suggests that there is no lack of expertise and creativity by market players to grow this niche segment,&rdquo he added.

 

Spanning 195,000 sq ft, the project will comprise 200 assisted-living apartments, a 100-bed nursing home, wellness clubhouse, geriatric care centre and a new 1.5ha community park, Perennial said in a release on Tuesday night.

 

The private project &ndash a new housing-cum-care model that the Ministry of Health and the Urban Redevelopment Authority are co-creating with industry players &ndash comes more than a year after public assisted-living developments, or community-care apartments, which integrate senior-friendly housing with care services, were introduced.

 

It represents an option for independent seniors who do not want to live in a nursing home but still require some form of assistance.

 

Mr Pua Seck Guan, executive chairman and chief executive officer of Perennial Holdings, said: &ldquo This unique opportunity will allow us to leverage our track record as one of the largest private integrated eldercare operators in China to create a model of eldercare and community care suited for locals to age-in-place.&rdquo

 

Perennial has more than 60 eldercare and medical facilities in 16 cities in China, with 12,000 beds in operation currently.

 

The agencies adopted a concept and price revenue tender, where tenderers were required to submit their concept proposals and tender prices separately.

 

Pre 20, which submitted bids at $71.988 million and $71.938 million for two different concept proposals, trumped a consortium that includes Allium Healthcare Holdings, which operates a residential aged-care accommodation development, and United Medicare Development, an operator of private nursing homes.

 

The winning bid was about 10.4 per cent higher than United Medicare&rsquo s bid of $65.188 million, while a consortium consisting of Allium Healthcare, Evia Real Estate, Yuan Ching Development and YK Realty submitted a bid of $48.889 million.

 

Perennial&rsquo s second bid, which was 0.7 per cent lower than its top bid, &ldquo reflects its intent to gain first-mover advantage to build a sizeable project in the private senior living market,&rdquo Mr Lam said.

 

He noted that this private project, as well as robust take-up for the first two public assisted-living projects &ndash community-care apartments in Harmony Village @ Bukit Batok and Queensway Canopy &ndash will help generate more awareness and interest among market players, care providers and seniors.

 

Huttons Asia&rsquo s senior director of research, Mr Lee Sze Teck, said the private assisted-living concept may be extended to more sites.

 

Residents of Perennial&rsquo s maiden healthcare project here will have a choice of one- or two-bedroom units ranging between 366 sq ft and 666 sq ft, with private lifts and access to balconies, sky terraces and green areas.

 

Perennial said its development will cater to healthy residents, those with mild dementia, and seniors requiring assisted daily living and nursing needs. There will also be a dedicated dementia-friendly zone where residents with dementia can move around safely.

 

The geriatric care centre will help manage common chronic diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes, and pain and stroke management. There is also a hydrotherapy pool.

 

Perennial will also partner its sponsor, Wilmar International, to provide food catering services. The meals, which cater to different healthcare needs, will be prepared by Wilmar&rsquo s central kitchen and culinary institute.

 

The developer said its proprietary WeCare App will connect all service offerings for residents and help them to stay connected with their family. The app enables remote monitoring of vital signs and safety, care and medical services bookings, and meal ordering.

 

According to the authorities, Pre 20&rsquo s concept proposal was &ldquo comprehensive and well-conceived in terms of its care model, programmes and services, as well as design features&rdquo .

 

The proposal includes a range of care and social services or programmes that can be tailored to residents&rsquo needs and preferences. It also features an integrated health and social care hub that creates opportunities for social bonding.

 

In addition, it offers a variety of communal areas with green sanctuaries, sky terraces and uses integrated with a future park to encourage interaction and bonding between residents and the community, the agencies said.

 

Mr Lam noted that the winning concept aims to &ldquo prevent the isolation of the senior living community&rdquo .

 

Located within Rosyth Estate, the Parry Avenue site will be adjacent to a new park to be developed by Perennial, as well as near dining and shopping amenities such as Serangoon North Neighbourhood Centre and Heartland Mall.

 

Singapore-based integrated real estate and healthcare company Perennial Holdings Private Limited (Perennial) and its consortium of investors have secured a $3 billion green loan.

 

The loan, which is Asia&rsquo s largest real estate green loan to date, is meant to finance the redevelopment of 8 Shenton Way. When completed, the 63-storey 8 Shenton Way will be Singapore&rsquo s tallest building at 305m high. It will also be among Asia&rsquo s most sustainable skyscrapers with its design to ensure energy efficiency as well as water efficiency.

 

DBS and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) acted as green loan advisors. Both banks, along with six other financial institutions, are also mandated lead arrangers.

 

The other six financial institutions are: Bangkok Bank Public Company Limited (Singapore Branch), China CITIC Bank International Limited, Hong Leong Finance Limited, Malayan Banking Berhad (Singapore Branch), Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, Singapore Branch, and UOB.

 

OCBC Bank is also the facility agent and security agent for the loan.

 

PROPERTY developers Qingjian Realty (South Pacific) Group and Perennial Real Estate Holdings have sold 30 per cent or 190 units of their 633-unit Forett At Bukit Timah condo project on Aug 8 during a virtual booking day event.

 

Homebuyers who made a booking during the launch got their units at an average transacted price of S$1,880 per square foot, with interest balanced across unit types, both parties announced on Monday.

 

The balloting for the condo units was streamed live on the Forett At Bukit Timah Facebook page on Saturday morning. When a buyer' s ballot gets called, the buyer and agent meet with the developer' s team via teleconferencing for booking.

 

The video of the virtual booking day garnered over 23,000 views, according to Qingjian Realty and Perennial.

 

Located on Toh Tuck Road, freehold Forett At Bukit Timah is close to amenities along Upper Bukit Timah Road. It is also near Beauty World MRT station and the future Beauty World Integrated Transport Hub.

 

The project is expected to receive its notice of vacant possession on Sept 6, 2024.

 

The former Goodluck Garden site on Toh Tuck Road was acquired via a collective sale in 2018 for S$610 million.

 

The Forett at Bukit Timah sales gallery is located at Yarwood Avenue.

 

AN offer made by a consortium of shareholders to take Perennial Real Estate Holdings private has turned unconditional, the real estate developer said in a bourse filing on Tuesday night.

 

It also extended the date of the close of the offer from Aug 3 to Aug 17.

 

Earlier last month, Perennial announced that an entity called Primero Investment Holdings was offering S$0.95 a share in cash for all its shares.

 

Primero is a consortium that comprises Perennial' s chief executive Pua Seck Guan, chairman Kuok Khoon Hong, vice-chairman Ron Sim, agri-food group Wilmar International, and Beaufort Investment Global Company. 

 

The proposed offer was conditional upon Primero receiving enough acceptances to give it a 90 per cent stake in Perennial, as it intends to delist the company.

 

Primero said then that privatisation will allow Perennial to raise money more easily, operate more efficiently, optimise its resources, and focus on its " strategic pursuits of acquiring and developing integrated development projects next to transportation hubs, repositioning its operating assets and growing its healthcare management business" .

 

The consortium on June 12 owned or had secured irrevocable undertakings for 82.43 per cent of Perennial' s shares.

 

As at 5.30pm on Tuesday, it owned, controlled, acquired or agreed to acquire 90.5 per cent of the total number of Perennial' s issued shares and 90.2 per cent of the company' s maximum potential issued share capital.

 

The offer will remain open for acceptance until 5.30pm on Aug 17. Subsequently, Primero will exercise its right to compulsorily acquire all shares held by shareholders who have not accepted the offer, at S$0.95 for each share.

THE board of mainboard-listed Perennial Real Estate Holdings named PricewaterhouseCoopers Corporate Finance the independent financial adviser to its independent directors, for an ongoing privatisation attempt. Chief executive Pua Seck Guan and some other substantial shareholders are trying to take the property group private at S$0.95 a share.