KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 16): IHH Healhcare Bhd rose as much as 16 sen or 2.5% after 
the group said it was expanding its China operations and on news Malaysia's Employees Provident Fund (EPF) upped its stake in the firm.

At 12:30pm, IHH settled at RM6.58, the stock's highest so far today, for a market value of RM54.11 billion. IHH is the seventh-largest gainer across Bursa Malaysia.

Yesterday, IHH told Bursa Malaysia the EPF raised its IHH stake to 9.02% after acquiring 2.76 million shares.

The EPF had puchased the IHH shares last Friday, according to IHH.

Yesterday, IHH also said it planned to lease 4.8ha (48,000 sq m)  within the Perennial International Health and Medical Hub in Chengdu, China, to run a 350-bed tertiary hospital. 

IHH said in a separate statement the tertiary hospital would be known as 
ParkwayHealth Chengdu Hospital. The hospital will be established under a proposed collaboration comprising IHH and China-based Shanghai Broad Ocean Investments Co Ltd. 

Today, AmResearch Sdn Bhd analyst Max Koh wrote in a note the research firm
expected ParkwayHealth Chengdu to contribute to IHH's bottom line by financial year ending December 31, 2019 (FY19) and FY20.

Koh said the forecast took into account the gestation period for new hospitals.

"As such, we do not expect any impact to our fair value (FV) in the near term. Pending further clarity on the JV, our HOLD call on IHH Healthcare remains," Koh said.

Koh said AmResearch had an FV of RM5.55 for IHH shares.