GIC invests $84 M in Phl hospital group

SINGAPORE (Xinhua) - GIC, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, announced today that it will invest P3.7 billion ($84 million) into a hospital group, in order to facilitate the latter's further expansion.

GIC, through its affiliates, will get a 14.4 percent stake in Neptune Stroika Holdings Inc.(NSHI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Philippine conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments Corporation. The NSHI will be the holding company for all of its parent company 's hospital investments.

The sovereign wealth fund also subscribed P6.5 billion ($149 million) exchangeable bonds. which could be exchanged into a 25.5 percent stake in NSHI in the future, allowing it to raise its stake in NSHI to nearly 40 percent.

The Metro Pacific Investments Corporation said the proceeds from the exchangeable bond will be used for its continuing investments in roads, power and water.

The deal is said to be completed sometime in the middle of this year.

GIC, established in 1981 with well over $100 billion in assets under management, handles a large portion of Singapore's foreign reserves.

The NSHI owns eight hospitals in the Philippines with a total capacity of 2,200 beds as well as a mall-based diagnostic centre.