Nearly one year after Alliance Healthcare went public, its share price has barely moved the needle, closing at 19.7 cents on March 25, giving it a market cap of some $41 million. However, Thng says Alliance Healthcare has benefited from the public listing. “As a manged healthcare business that deals with insurers and corporate clients, being listed gives an independent validation of our internal risk control, data security and [adherence] to financial regulations,” he explains.
SINGAPORE (Mar 27): As stock markets flounder amid the outbreak of the Covid-19 virus, Dr Barry Thng, executive chairman of Alliance Healthcare, is confident the company can withstand the health crisis. “I’m not particularly affected by the share price since investors’ reluctance to invest will not be permanent as seen during SARS,” Thng tells The Edge Singapore.
In a vote of confidence for his own stock, Thng made his first purchase on the open market since the company’s listing. On Feb 18, he bought 10,000 shares at an average of 20.5 cents each. The following day, he bought another 24,900 shares at 19.9 cents each. Thng wants to signal that the company’s share price— at current levels — deserves a higher valuation. “With a lot of developments coming up, we wanted to create some activity,” Thng says of his insider moves.
