Sarena Cheah

Executive Deputy Chair — Sunway Group

About Sarena Cheah

Key facts Role: Executive deputy chair Organisation: Sunway Group Country: Malaysia Sector: Property, construction and healthcare Headline figures: Record 2025 revenue of RM9.8bn; Sunway Healthcare IPO to raise at least RM2.86bn On 23 September Sunway broke ground on an RM800m hospital in Iskandar Puteri, Johor, with more than 400 beds and more than 1,400 jobs, due for completion in 2030. The site is Sunway City Iskandar Puteri, a 2,000-acre township whose development Sarena Cheah oversees as executive deputy chair of Sunway Group. The hospital is part of a larger shift that Cheah is helping to lead. The group is pushing its property, construction and healthcare businesses south towards Singapore and outward across the region. In the same year it has delivered record results and floated its hospitals arm in Malaysia's biggest listing in nine years. The role Cheah became executive deputy chair on 2 January 2025, with a mandate "to spearhead the Group's international expansion, as well as identify and pursue new market opportunities", according to Sunway's board profile. Sunway Berhad reported record revenue of RM9.8bn for 2025, up 24.5%, and pre-tax profit of RM1.9bn, up 23%. Net profit rose 13.1% to RM1.3bn, The Edge reported. Its property arm, which Cheah ran as managing director from 2015, sold RM3.8bn of property in 2025 against a target of RM3.6bn, and has set a 2026 target of RM4.2bn across Malaysia, Singapore and China. The group completed its acquisition of the Singapore developer MCL Land in October 2025. Forbes Asia reported the deal at nearly S$740m and called it Sunway's largest-ever acquisition. The healthcare listing The healthcare listing was the year's defining transaction. Sunway Healthcare Holdings launched an IPO in February to raise at least RM2.86bn ($736m), Reuters reported, valuing the company at RM16.7bn. It was Malaysia's largest listing since 2017. The shares closed their first day of trading on 18 March 28% above the offer price, and the company was fast-tracked into the FBM KLCI benchmark index, The Edge reported. Sunway Healthcare had 1,805 licensed beds in January 2026 and runs Sunway Medical Centre in Kuala Lumpur, which Reuters called the largest private hospital in Malaysia. Group chairman Jeffrey Cheah, the founder and Cheah's father, told Reuters the healthcare unit was looking for regional expansion opportunities. Background Cheah has spent three decades inside the group. She joined in 1995 and worked in corporate finance, internal audit and business development. She became general manager for sales and marketing in property development in 2006 and director of strategy and corporate development in 2009. In that role she oversaw the merger and integration of Sunway Holdings and Sunway City. In 2010–11 she was instrumental in listing Sunway REIT on Bursa Malaysia and launching the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation, according to her board profile. She became joint managing director of property development in 2013. Forbes Asia named her one of Asia's Power Businesswomen in November 2025. It said she had started as a junior executive who "helped out with photocopying". She told Forbes that any property that "has potential, fits our strategy and can create long-term value" would be considered. Regional footprint Her regional footprint is growing. She has been based in Singapore since 2023, where Sunway has become a regular bidder in state land tenders, according to an interview first published in Lianhe Zaobao and republished by Sunway. Her other board seats include the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) and United Overseas Bank (Malaysia). Group president Anuar Taib told the Star that Sunway's Johor investments are positioned to benefit from the Johor Bahru–Singapore Rapid Transit System Link. Jeffrey Cheah said the exchange rate between the two currencies would bring medical tourism to Johor. What to watch: execution of the 2026 property sales target, further acquisitions in Singapore, the Iskandar Puteri hospital build, and any regional deal by Sunway Healthcare. Succession at a founder-led group is another long-term question. Forbes says Cheah's focus is to "craft a strong plan for the next 50" years. Cheah ranks 37th because she combines senior executive authority with a mandate over the international growth of a conglomerate whose four listed units the chairman valued at more than RM70bn. Final control still rests with its founder-chairman. Sources The Star, Sunway expansion to boost Johor healthcare , 23 Sep 2026 Sunway Group, Board of Directors (Sarena Cheah profile) Sunway Berhad press release, FY2025 results, 24 Feb 2026 The Edge Malaysia, Sunway FY2025 net profit up 13% on record revenue of RM9.8 bil , 25 Feb 2026 Reuters, Sunway Healthcare launches $736 million IPO, Malaysia's largest in nine years , 27 Feb 2026 The Edge (via i3investor), Sunway Healthcare Ends Main Market Debut 28% Higher , 18 Mar 2026 Forbes Asia, Asia's Power Businesswomen 2025 , 3 Nov 2025 Sunway Stories (translated from Lianhe Zaobao), From Junior Executive to Group Leader... , 22 Aug 2025

Why this entry is on the list

Cheah ranks 37th because she combines senior executive authority with a mandate over the international growth of a conglomerate whose four listed units the chairman valued at more than RM70bn. Final control still rests with its founder-chairman. Sunway Berhad reported record revenue of RM9.8bn for 2025, and the group floated its hospitals arm in Malaysia's largest listing since 2017.