Medtecs climbs 12% as company eyes mainboard transfer

Singapore

SHARES of Medtecs International ended Monday higher, even as other healthcare plays reversed course to end lower for the day.

This comes after the medical products supplier said that it is planning to transfer its listing from Catalist to the mainboard of the Singapore Exchange.

The counter traded as high as S$1.02 before closing at 99 cents, up 10.5 cents or 11.9 per cent. Year to date, Medtecs shares are now trading at about 27 times their Dec 31 close of 3.7 cents.

Some 50.5 million shares changed hands on Monday, making it one of the most heavily traded counters on the Singapore bourse for the day.

Shareinvestor data showed that there were no married trades, though a number of large trades, with a value of more than S$150,000 each, were transacted.

The company is hoping that a transfer to the mainboard will attract institutional investors and increase its investor base, both within Singapore and overseas.

It also believes a mainboard listing would enhance its image and provide greater visibility and recognition in the market. Medtecs said this is "particularly critical" amid the Covid-19 pandemic, when there could be pockets of opportunity to tap in order to expand its business.

Medtecs also noted on Monday that it will be included in the MSCI Singapore Small Cap Index after market close on Nov 30. William Yang, Medtecs' executive director and chief executive, expected the inclusion to bring about higher trading liquidity and visibility to investors globally.

Medtecs' share price increase mirrors that of Aspen Holdings, which gained after it proposed a placement with an eye on a mainboard transfer as well.

Aspen shares rose 15.1 per cent to 30.5 Singapore cents by the closing bell last Monday, after the Malaysian property developer and soon-to-be glove maker announced a proposed placement to raise up to S$23.8 million. Aspen shares finished at S$0.23 on Monday, up S$0.01 cent or 4.6 per cent.

Other healthcare plays saw a choppy session on Monday - rallying earlier in the day, before ending lower. Top Glove, UG Healthcare and Riverstone, which have seen exponential gains so far this year, lost some steam last week amid news that a potential Covid-19 vaccine being developed by Pfizer and BioNTech was shown to be highly effective.

On Monday, Malaysian rubber glove maker Top Glove shed S$0.16 or 6.3 per cent to S$2.37.

UG Healthcare lost 2.5 Singapore cents or 3.3 per cent to 74 cents, while Riverstone sank S$0.07 or 4.6 per cent to S$1.45.