Hong Seng unit inks deal to buy 51pc stake in Pow Pocket

KUALA LUMPUR: Hong Seng Consolidated Bhd’s subsidiary, HS Bio Sdn Bhd, signed a heads of agreement to acquire a 51 per cent stake in Pow Pocket Sdn Bhd (PPSB) for RM200 million.

Non-executive chairman Datuk Seri Dr Chen Chaw Min said the acquisition was a strategic move that would allow it to work exclusively and strengthen the synergies with other healthcare subsidiaries.

“This is part of the continuous initiatives by HS Bio to drive its healthcare business forward and further deepen its capabilities in the health chain.

“This is in line with the government’s 12th Malaysia Plan, which aims to enhance healthcare service delivery by leveraging technology, including digitalising healthcare services and improving research, development and innovation capacity,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Pow Pocket is an investment holdings company that deals with health technologies-related business activities.

The company is currently operating Jengu, a web-based digital health engine dedicated to Covid-19 screening, vaccination and digital health.

Pow Pocket also operates the ImmuPlan portal, an exclusive digital platform for public and private vaccination rollout in Johor under the guidance of the Johor Biotechnology and Biodiversity Corp.

Meanwhile, a national private vaccination programme, Immunise, was also announced during the signing ceremony yesterday.

Immunise, the platform engine of ImmuPlan, will become an open and inclusive platform to capture the demand for booster and juvenile vaccination shots in the country.

Pow Pocket managing director Russell Walter Boyd said Immunise works by democratising and decentralising private vaccine delivery and empowering local communities and doctors to decide on inoculation.