IFC to hold stake in Healthway as part of US$25m financing package
By KAREN NG – SPH

HEALTHWAY Medical has roped in International Finance Corporation as a shareholder, with an agreement to place out shares for the equivalent of US$10 million to fund its China expansion plans.
The investment by IFC is part of a US$25 million financing package, of which US$15 million is in the form of a senior loan, Healthway said yesterday.
It was International Enterprise Singapore, the agency that promotes the overseas growth of Singapore-based enterprises, that introduced IFC to Healthway Medical. IFC is a member of the World Bank Group.
The mainboard-listed company will issue 108 million new shares to IFC at 13 cents apiece, which represents a 10 per cent discount from the simple average of two figures – the closing share price on Jan 7, adjusted for rights issue, and the average closing share prices for the period July 1-Dec 31, 2009. In the stock market yesterday, Healthway closed at 18 cents.
Healthway managing director Wong Weng Hong told BT that the company had decided in 2006 that China was going to be a main engine of growth.
‘In fact, we had anticipated changes to healthcare policies and demand patterns as the income levels in the first-tier and second-tier cities advanced. Over the past three and a half years, we have learnt how to operate in the Chinese market effectively. But more importantly, we have built up a local team that will build and grow with the company.’
Healthway will initially develop and manage a network of primary and ambulatory facilities in Shanghai. It will subsequently be expanded to outer Shanghai, neighbouring provinces and then to other regions of China.
Dr Wong added: ‘There are several successful local private operators in the Chinese market, but in general, they do not scale their operations, except in health screening. The foreign companies have been more aggressive in setting up networks of medical clinics to serve mostly expatriate patients, for example, Worldlink and United Family Clinics, and they have been very successful.
‘Healthway Medical has identified an opportunity to position a strong and trusted Singapore brand to provide high quality and affordable primary medical services to the middle-income locals. Many of them have moved out of the city centre where the main Shanghainese hospitals are situated.’
Karin Finkelston, IFC director of East Asia, said that the partnership would not only provide health services to more patients in China but also create employment opportunities for medical professionals.
‘We expect that Healthway will treat over 300,000 patients each year and create over 500 skilled jobs over the next few years.’

TripleOne Somerset facility’s first phase to be ready in March
By KAREN NG- SPH

HEALTHWAY Medical will open a specialist centre at TripleOne Somerset.
The project, which is estimated to cost $40 million, will be completed in several stages over three years. The first phase, costing $2 million, will be ready later this month.
The entire Healthway Medical Centre (HMC) will occupy seven floors, or about 150,000 sq ft, of TripleOne Somerset.
Plastic surgeons, dentists and dermatologists will be housed in the first phase of the centre, located on level two of TripleOne.
The focus on aesthetics and plastic surgical procedures is aimed at anchoring Healthway’s position as a leading provider of medical aesthetics.
In later stages, other specialist services will be introduced at HMC. To provide the best services, Healthway will join forces with local and overseas institutions to bring in other practices and therapies. The number of doctors in the centre is expected to exceed 200.
HMC managing director Wong Weng Hong said: ‘Many patients in Singapore and around the region are looking for good medical care extended by a reputable and reliable group. We believe this project will address this growing demand.’
The management believes patients and physicians can be linked for consultation and treatment via tele-medical connections with Healthway’s centres in China and other countries in the region.
Dr Wong said: ‘Our centres in Singapore and China will be linked to HMC through leading-edge tele-medicine technology that will enable doctors and patients to connect effectively across vast distances.’
As most of the costs will cover renovation and equipment, funding if any will be predominantly from asset-based lending from banks – such as hire-purchase and term loans, a source said.
The establishment of HMC is not expected to have any material effect on the net tangible assets and earnings per share of Healthway for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2010.
Yesterday, Healthway shares closed one cent lower at 17 cents.

Healthway Medical Corporation says the group will be opening four new aesthetic medical centres in the fourth quarter of 2009 (Q4 2009).

Healthway Medical Corporation says there is an increasing demand for medically proven solutions to improve one’s appearance and well- being through treatments focusing on the skin, hair, teeth and weight management. NeuGLOW, a wholly-owned subsidiary, will be launching four new centres to provide the “total” medical and dental aesthetic solutions.

“Together with the existing three NeuGLOW centres, we expect our seven NeuGLOW centres to strengthen our position in Singapore as a market leader in providing effective medical and dental aesthetics as a “total” solution to both local and foreign patients,” commented Dr Wong Weng Hong, the Managing Director of the Group.

Three of the four new centres namely NeuGLOW Face & Skin, NeuGLOW Lipo & Shape, and NeuGLOW Dental White are located at Novena Medical Centre. A sports medicine team will also be in place to ensure that NeuGLOW’s weight management programmes are highly effective. In addition, the aesthetic dental division will focus on teeth whitening via the latest laser technology. Simple checkups for cavities can also be detected and treated on the spot with the fillings.

As hair loss is increasingly common among many working adults, the NeuGLOW Medical Hair Clinic at Mandarin Gallery will offer pioneering hair restoration solutions, including the Omnigraft hair transplantation technology to permanently replace lost hair in patients with balding problems.

The group intends to finance the opening of the four new NeuGLOW centres from internal resources and new bank borrowings.

The opening of the four new NeuGLOW centres is not expected to have any material effect on the net tangible assets and earnings per share of the Healthway Medical Corporation for the financial year ending 31 December 2009