KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 4): UEM Edgenta Bhd is banking on its healthcare support business to drive growth going forward, as the group is eyeing new tenders in Singapore amid the government's move to re-cluster healthcare facilities.

UEM Edgenta managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Azmir Merican said the Singaporean Health Ministry's exercise will open up opportunities for the group, adding on to the RM540.06 million worth of contracts it secured in the island state so far.

"The restructuring of healthcare clusters will bring in new tenders to be issued by the Singaporean Health Ministry. When re-clustering happens, it usually involves larger value and longer tenure contracts," he told the press at a briefing on the group's 1HFY19 results today.

When pressed about the jobs the group is bidding for, he said the details are yet to be announced, but added that he hopes UEM Edgenta would be able to secure more contract wins.

Besides Singapore, the group said its healthcare support operations in Malaysia, Taiwan and India will also contribute to growth going forward.

It is also eyeing Indonesia as a potential market to expand its healthcare services. UEM Edgenta already has presence in the country in the form of its infrastructure solutions arm, as the group is currently managing the maintenance of the Cikampek-Palimanan highway there.

"We are already in Indonesia in terms of infrastructure services and our presence there is a part of our long-term strategy. We are looking to work with the locals to see how we can further build our business there, including for healthcare, as it is a populous country.

"However, we will need a bit of local help in Indonesia and we will only proceed when we can figure that out. But directionally, we do feel it is a market we can enter," said Azmir.

Overall, he said the long-term prospects for the healthcare segment is positive, given the growing and ageing population and the increasing life expectancy in the countries it is currently present in.