Thai hospital tycoon sticks to guns on vaccine claims

Bangkok

THAILAND'S Thonburi Healthcare Group Pcl (THG) doubled down on its outspoken chairman's claim to be buying Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines on Friday, helping its share price rise despite denials by both drugmakers.

Boon Vanasin's claim that his group, a more than US$800 million private medicine empire, was close to signing a deal for 20 million Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccines to import to Thailand was swiftly denied on Thursday by both companies, one day after a government agency filed a defamation suit against the 82-year-old.

On Friday, THG stuck to its guns.

"THG has agreed to buy the vaccine and is currently in the process of filing documents with overseas dealers," the company said in a statement.

The chairman even told local media that an agreement would be signed by Friday afternoon. By close of business, there was still no evidence of any deal.

THG shares closed 1.59 per cent higher, having been up as much as 4 per cent at one point.

It's still unclear whether Dr Boon was insincere, the victim of a scam or - as he asserts - in the process of a brilliant fix to Thailand's desperate vaccine needs.

Dr Boon insists a deal was in the works through a government agency, which he declined to name.

"We are not doing it directly," he told Reuters.

Still, his comments on Thursday added about 1.5 billion baht (S$62.1 million) to THG's market capitalisation, bring it to 26.8 billion baht, Refinitiv Eikon data shows.

Thailand so far has only vaccinated 5 per cent of its population of more than 66 million. It has been administering China's Sinovac vaccine and the AstraZeneca's shots but the government seeking other imported doses.

Dr Boo has been on a quest for Covid-19 vaccines for months, arguing that the government should not monopolise supply and calling the vaccine policy "complacent and reckless". In February, he tried to import vaccines, but was unsuccessful and later lodged a protest.

Months later, state drugmaker, the Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO), said it would import five million doses of Moderna vaccine for private hospitals. REUTERS