Singapore's Rowsley to convert mixed-use Iskandar project into healthcare hub

SINGAPORE, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Singapore's Rowsley Ltd will convert its Iskandar project in Malaysia into a healthcare hub instead of a mixed-use township, the company said on Tuesday, amid a rising supply of homes in the special economic zone.

The company said it decided to reposition Vantage Bay "in light of the strong pipeline of residential apartments and prevailing market sentiments for residential apartments in Iskandar Malaysia in the last year."

Vantage Bay Healthcare City will include a specialist hospital, long-term care facilities, a medical school and a wellness resort. The project, which will be built in phases, is expected to have a gross development value of 5 billion ringgit ($1.2 billion).

Rowsley CEO Lock Wai Han told reporters at a media briefing that concerns of oversupply in Iskandar were overblown and the company believed in its long-term potential.

However, he said: "Instead of sitting there and waiting for the market to turn, with this we expect that over the next 5-10 years, there will be a steady stream of recurring income coming in."

According to real estate consultancy Savills, about 248,000 new residential units were in the pipeline in Iskandar as of end-2014, a 58 percent increase over existing supply.

($1 = 4.2860 ringgit) (Reporting By Aradhana Aravindan; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)