National petroleum company Petronas has over RM1 billion through its investment in building a luxury private hospital in Kuala Lumpur, the Prince Court Medical Centre, says a parliamentarian.
The private hospital, which cost RM544 million to build, has been hit with losses every year for the past decade and the total losses have now crossed RM1 billion, DAP's Bukit Bendera MP Zairil Khir Johari said today.
"In 2008, Prince Court lost a total of RM111 million. This figure nearly doubled to RM192 million in 2009 before haemorrhaging a further RM450 million in 2010.
"By year ending Dec 31, 2011, the accumulated losses stood at an incredible RM1.08 billion," Zairil (right) said in a statement, basing his claim on income statements from the Prince Court Medical Centre.
He said the private hospital's performance was in stark contrast to other private medical groups, such as the Parkway Pantai, which owns a chain of private hospitals in the country and in Singapore, and recorded RM818 million in profits.
Zairil pointed out that in a parliamentary written answer he received from Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Abdul Wahid Omar recently, the government said it considered Prince Court's business model to be sound and went on to say that more heavy investments were needed for the hospital.
This, the government reasoned, was because Prince Court was recently named the "World's Best Hospital" by the Medical Travel Quality Alliance.
Should Petronas move into non-core activities?
"Even if it is indeed the "world's best hospital," the question still remains whether Prince Court is able to eventually turn profitable, and if not, then why should the public effectively subsidise a loss-making luxury private hospital?" Zairil asked.
"The bigger question is: should Petronas even be engaged in non-core activities such as healthcare and property, since its mandate and expertise is in the field of oil and gas?
"Other oil companies typically only invest in oil and gas related industries and do not stray away from their core competencies," he added.
Zairil also said that the losses suffered by Petronas proved that it should not be involved in non-core businesses.
"Meanwhile, this episode also signals an urgent need for a greater oversight of Petronas' financial matters, especially considering the importance of the national oil company to our country's coffers," he said.
Petronas contributes to nearly 40 percent of the annual federal budget.
The private hospital, which cost RM544 million to build, has been hit with losses every year for the past decade and the total losses have now crossed RM1 billion, DAP's Bukit Bendera MP Zairil Khir Johari said today.
"In 2008, Prince Court lost a total of RM111 million. This figure nearly doubled to RM192 million in 2009 before haemorrhaging a further RM450 million in 2010. "By year ending Dec 31, 2011, the accumulated losses stood at an incredible RM1.08 billion," Zairil (right) said in a statement, basing his claim on income statements from the Prince Court Medical Centre.
He said the private hospital's performance was in stark contrast to other private medical groups, such as the Parkway Pantai, which owns a chain of private hospitals in the country and in Singapore, and recorded RM818 million in profits.
Zairil pointed out that in a parliamentary written answer he received from Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Abdul Wahid Omar recently, the government said it considered Prince Court's business model to be sound and went on to say that more heavy investments were needed for the hospital.
This, the government reasoned, was because Prince Court was recently named the "World's Best Hospital" by the Medical Travel Quality Alliance.
Should Petronas move into non-core activities?
"Even if it is indeed the "world's best hospital," the question still remains whether Prince Court is able to eventually turn profitable, and if not, then why should the public effectively subsidise a loss-making luxury private hospital?" Zairil asked.
"The bigger question is: should Petronas even be engaged in non-core activities such as healthcare and property, since its mandate and expertise is in the field of oil and gas?
"Other oil companies typically only invest in oil and gas related industries and do not stray away from their core competencies," he added.
Zairil also said that the losses suffered by Petronas proved that it should not be involved in non-core businesses.
"Meanwhile, this episode also signals an urgent need for a greater oversight of Petronas' financial matters, especially considering the importance of the national oil company to our country's coffers," he said.
Petronas contributes to nearly 40 percent of the annual federal budget.
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