Khazanah Nasional Berhad today announced that it is selling Prince Court Medical Centre (PCMC) in Kuala Lumpur for RM1.02 billion in cash.

The sale comes slightly more than a year after Khazanah acquired the hospital from Petronas.

According to a Bursa Malaysia announcement today, Khazanah's original investment in the hospital, through its subsidiary Pulau Memutik Ventures Sdn Bhd, was RM1.086 billion.

Petronas had been suffering annual losses when Khazanah acquired the hospital, which has been described as offering "luxurious rooms more akin to hotel suites", last year.

In a statement today, Khazanah said Pulau Memutik Ventures Sdn Bhd entered into a share purchase agreement with Pantai Holdings Sdn Bhd to divest 100 percent interest in the hospital.

Pantai Holdings Sdn Bhd is a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of IHH Healthcare Berhad.

"PCMC was strategically acquired by Khazanah in 2018 with the view of building up the healthcare services sector in Malaysia and to promote Kuala Lumpur as a destination of choice for quality healthcare in the region.

"Given the recent change in Khazanah’s refreshed mandate, the decision was made to sell PCMC to IHH, Khazanah’s healthcare platform," it said.

Khazanah said the sale will enable PCMC to fully benefit from being integrated into IHH’s Malaysian operations and its broader global network.

“This transaction is in line with our refreshed mandate and provides Khazanah with the liquidity for our future investment capital requirements.

"In addition, Khazanah is confident that PCMC will further benefit from IHH’s wealth of experience in providing premium healthcare, whilst solidifying IHH’s position as a leading Malaysian healthcare operator, where we remain as a substantial shareholder with a 26.04 percent stake," Khazanah managing director Shahril Ridza Ridzuan said in the statement.

The sale is subject to the approval of the relevant authorities and stakeholders.

Late last year, Khazanah also sold a 16 percent stake in IHH to Japan's Mitsui & Co Ltd for RM8.42 billion.

The sale saw Mitsui become IHH's largest shareholder with a stake of almost 33 percent. Khazanah's stake was reduced to 26 percent following the sale.