SHARES of Catalist-listed healthcare players Medtecs International Corporation and UG Healthcare tumbled at around the same time during Monday's afternoon trade, prompting separate queries from the Singapore Exchange (SGX).
SGX flagged "unusual price movements" for both counters and asked whether the companies were aware of any information not previously announced which might explain the trading activity. It also asked them to confirm their compliance with Catalist Rule 703.
Integrated healthcare products and services provider Medtecs International, which produces personal protective equipment, saw its shares sink by 35 per cent or 30.5 Singapore cents to an intra-day low of 56.5 cents at around 2.02pm.
The counter then recovered slightly to 71.5 cents as at 4.22pm, down 15.5 cents or 17.8 per cent from Thursday's closing price. By then, 128 million shares had changed hands, making Medtecs the second most actively traded by volume on the Singapore bourse.
Meanwhile, disposable glove manufacturer UG Healthcare's shares fell 28.9 per cent or S$0.57 to S$1.40 at about 2.08pm.
The stock later regained some ground to trade at S$1.74 as at 4.24pm, down S$0.23 or 11.7 per cent from the previous close. Almost 20 million shares of UG Healthcare had changed hands.
SGX earlier queried UG Healthcare on May 28 about "unusual price movements", after its shares rose 40.9 per cent on the week. Although the company replied that it did not know of any unannounced information which might explain the share trading, it pointed to a bourse filing on May 19 when it announced its facilities were operating at "optimum production efficiency" with a capacity of 2.9 billion gloves per annum amid higher demand.
After market close on Monday, UG Healthcare said it was "not aware" of any information not previously announced concerning the company and its subsidiaries or associated companies which, if known, might explain the trading. It also said it was "not aware" of any other explanation for the trading, but pointed again to its filing on May 19.
Shareinvestor data showed that there were no married deals recorded, prior to the drops in share prices for both companies.
Before Monday, the two stocks' prices had climbed since the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic amid a surge in demand for medical supplies globally.
On May 6, Medtecs shares jumped 38.6 per cent to close at 15.8 cents, and was the most heavily traded by volume on the SGX, a day after reporting a surge in net profit. Medtecs said at the time that it saw a huge demand for its personal protective equipment and other anti-epidemic products from both existing and new customers.