HONG SENG STRENGTHENS HS BIO
Group aims to make unit an end-to-end integrated healthcare provider
HONG Seng Consolidated Bhd is ramping up its healthcare business under its subsidiary, HS Bio Supplies Sdn Bhd (HS Bio), which will continue to be a crucial pillar for the group.
Recently-appointed Hong Seng executive director Christopher Chan said the healthcare unit aimed to be an end-to-end integrated healthcare provider with a comprehensive range of products and services in the pipeline.
Hong Seng’s revenue in the third quarter ended Dec 31 last year surged 3,000 per cent to RM25.29 million.
This was supported by income generated by its healthcare segment through HS Bio and its subsidiaries, mainly for the supply of Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test kits.
Other than supplying test kits, Chan said HS Bio was also involved in setting up labs to conduct testing for Covid-19.
He said the country needed to increase its testing capacity rapidly on top of the vaccination programme to facilitate the reopening of the economy and enable safe travel.
The testing will be done through HS Bio’s subsidiary, Neogenix Laboratoire Sdn Bhd, a medical diagnosis and research lab.
The company has labs in Kuala Lumpur and Johor Baru, and plans to set up more test labs in the Klang Valley, Sabah and Sarawak.
Advanced talks have been carried out with several parties which have voiced their interest.
HS Bio’s subsidiary, eMedAsia Sdn Bhd, runs a digital health platform that provides online clinic appointments as well as an e-commerce marketplace for clinics to buy pharmaceutical, medical and healthcare supplies.
It aims to capture the growth of the private healthcare industry through 6,000 private clinics and bring about a paradigm shift in how healthcare equipment and pharmaceutical supplies are handled, procured and supplied.
“We are playing a pivotal role to revolutionise and evolve the conventional private healthcare business by digitalising the sector through a seamless supply chain delivery format supported by our network of healthcare providers and partners.
“We are hopeful that with the integration of technology, e-commerce and last-mile logistics, healthcare will become more accessible and affordable. We are working to build HS Bio to achieve the most complete healthcare spectrum that is digitalised for the future.”
He said eMedAsia member clinics would benefit from thirdparty and fourth-party logistics services, which would lower the cost of inventory investment, and enjoy better rates for bulk purchase arrangement and friendly credit payment terms from suppliers.
“Digital healthcare solutions, last-mile fulfilment, Covid-19 solutions and turnkey end-to-end lab products and solutions will be the growth drivers for the group’s healthcare arm, going forward.
“This will ensure that HS Bio, and in turn Hong Seng, deliver strong financial performance,” said Chan.