The Malaysian businessman succeeds Ng Ser Miang, who steps down on Jan 31 after a decade

[SINGAPORE] Mainboard-listed Thomson Medical Group has appointed Malaysian businessman Tong Kooi Ong as its independent, non-executive chairman to its board, effective Feb 1, 2026.

 

He succeeds Ng Ser Miang, 76, who steps down on Jan 31, the healthcare player said in a bourse filing on Monday (Jan 12).

 

Tong, 66, has &ldquo decades of business leadership experience across multiple sectors and geographies&rdquo , and has helmed and advised a number of successful businesses, the company said.

 

He is also &ldquo widely recognised for his strategic insight and long-term approach to value creation&rdquo , it added.

 

Tong is executive chairman of paper manufacturing and building materials distributor Avarga, and chairman and founder of The Edge Media Group.

 

He also founded Malaysia&rsquo s first digital bank, PhileoAllied Bank, and is a minority shareholder of GX Bank.

 

The company expects his experience in property-related businesses and capital-intensive developments, as well as his influence as a business leader in South-east Asia, to be a strategic asset.

 

Kiat Lim, executive vice-chairman of Thomson Medical, said: &ldquo His business acumen, experience with large-scale developments and deep understanding of the region will be highly relevant as we execute long-term initiatives such as Johor Bay.&rdquo

 

Outgoing chairman Ng has been Thomson Medical&rsquo s chairman since 2015. During his tenure, the group strengthened its foundations in Singapore, grew in South-east Asia and expanded its capabilities in women&rsquo s and children&rsquo s health, fertility and multi-disciplinary care, the company noted.

The Singapore group is targeting patient flows in the growing Mekong sub-region

 

[HO CHI MINH CITY] Singapore-listed   Thomson Medical Group   : A50 0% (TMG) is braving a FY2025 net loss to solidify its US$381.4 million bet on Vietnam, choosing to deepen its regional roots rather than chase new acquisitions, said its top executive.

 

Despite the headwinds, the company is doubling down on the country as a key growth market, said Dr Melvin Heng, TMG&rsquo s group chief executive.  

 

&ldquo If I&rsquo m going to spend more, I&rsquo d rather deepen my capabilities than dilute myself by building too many hospitals,&rdquo he told The Business Times on the sidelines of the Vietnam Vanguard Summit in Ho Chi Minh City this month.

 

TMG&rsquo s 2023 landmark acquisition of FV Hospital &ndash the biggest healthcare deal in Vietnam&rsquo s history &ndash pushed the group into the red in FY2025 to the tune of S$47 million.

 

The Vietnam hospital is adding a one-hectare (ha) wing by the end of 2027, with investments running into &ldquo tens of millions of US dollars&rdquo , said Dr Heng. 

 

The expansion will focus on oncology, diagnostics and advanced surgical capabilities, alongside broader social health insurance coverage and instalment-based payment programmes to improve affordability.

 

&ldquo Vietnam is poised to become a strong regional healthcare hub,&rdquo the chief executive said, noting that FV Hospital has already attracted a &ldquo reasonable number&rdquo of patients from Cambodia. &ldquo Secondary patient exposure will come as we continue to invest in Vietnam.&rdquo

 

He envisions Vietnam as a &ldquo hub&rdquo in a hub-and-spoke model designed to capture patient flows from the lower Mekong sub-region, including Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.

 

As a result, beyond focusing on its existing footprint in Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam, the group is not actively pursuing another large acquisition in the region in the near term, though it remains open to opportunistic deals.

 

Plateauing growth

Integrating the Vietnam unit amid a volatile economy and slower growth led to a goodwill impairment, dragging Thomson Medical into the red for FY2025.

 

Dr Heng framed the slowdown less as a demand problem than a timing and structure issue.

 

Vietnam&rsquo s private healthcare market, he said, is more exposed to retail consumers than Singapore or Malaysia, where insurance penetration is higher.

 

&ldquo We felt the growth could have been better,&rdquo Dr Heng said, noting that Vietnam has gone through major changes over the last two years, including political transitions and global trade tensions. &ldquo We do see that there&rsquo s a portion of consumers in healthcare that is actually quite sensitive to the macroeconomic changes.&rdquo

 

Despite that, he said recurring patient volumes at FV Hospital have remained solid, even as competition has intensified with new hospitals and healthcare groups entering the market.

 

&ldquo There is a little bit of dilution,&rdquo he said. &ldquo But net demand will only increase.&rdquo

 

Rising tide

While Singapore&rsquo s healthcare market is approaching saturation, Dr Heng sees faster growth ahead in Malaysia and Vietnam, where &ldquo the tide is rising&rdquo as population dynamics and consumption patterns remain favourable.

 

&ldquo The ceiling for healthcare consumption of the Vietnamese population is actually really high,&rdquo he said, noting Vietnam&rsquo s ageing population, rising middle class and growing government healthcare spending as supporting factors.

 

He acknowledged the lofty price paid for FV Hospital in the 2023 deal, which some have questioned, given the group&rsquo s high leverage, but stressed that hospital valuations in South-east Asia reflect the difficulty of replicating what he calls the &ldquo software&rdquo of healthcare &ndash clinical culture, safety protocols, accreditation standards and trained teams &ndash rather than just bricks and mortar.

 

Thomson plans to continue investing in Vietnam and Malaysia despite the challenging environment and short-term earnings hits, and aims to build a sustainable competitive edge.

 

One of them is its development of a 10.5 ha Johor Bay &ldquo mega project&rdquo worth more than RM18 billion (S$5.5 billion), integrating a hospital, specialist centre, assisted living and healthcare ancillaries.

 

The healthcare provider, which is controlled by Singapore tycoon Peter Lim, expects losses to persist in FY2026 as it expands facilities, develops digital health solutions and enhances cross-border capabilities.

 

&ldquo It takes a lot of money to build these (healthcare) services, which is reflected in some erosion of our Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation),&rdquo he said. &ldquo We&rsquo ve planted so many seeds, we want to at least grow some of them before we start to deleverage.&rdquo

The Singapore group is targeting patient flows in the growing Mekong sub-region

 

[HO CHI MINH CITY] Singapore-listed   Thomson Medical Group   : A50 0% (TMG) is braving a FY2025 net loss to solidify its US$381.4 million bet on Vietnam, choosing to deepen its regional roots rather than chase new acquisitions, said its top executive.

 

Despite the headwinds, the company is doubling down on the country as a key growth market, said Dr Melvin Heng, TMG&rsquo s group chief executive.  

 

&ldquo If I&rsquo m going to spend more, I&rsquo d rather deepen my capabilities than dilute myself by building too many hospitals,&rdquo he told The Business Times on the sidelines of the Vietnam Vanguard Summit in Ho Chi Minh City this month.

 

TMG&rsquo s 2023 landmark acquisition of FV Hospital &ndash the biggest healthcare deal in Vietnam&rsquo s history &ndash pushed the group into the red in FY2025 to the tune of S$47 million.

 

The Vietnam hospital is adding a one-hectare (ha) wing by the end of 2027, with investments running into &ldquo tens of millions of US dollars&rdquo , said Dr Heng. 

 

The expansion will focus on oncology, diagnostics and advanced surgical capabilities, alongside broader social health insurance coverage and instalment-based payment programmes to improve affordability.

 

&ldquo Vietnam is poised to become a strong regional healthcare hub,&rdquo the chief executive said, noting that FV Hospital has already attracted a &ldquo reasonable number&rdquo of patients from Cambodia. &ldquo Secondary patient exposure will come as we continue to invest in Vietnam.&rdquo

 

He envisions Vietnam as a &ldquo hub&rdquo in a hub-and-spoke model designed to capture patient flows from the lower Mekong sub-region, including Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.

 

As a result, beyond focusing on its existing footprint in Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam, the group is not actively pursuing another large acquisition in the region in the near term, though it remains open to opportunistic deals.

 

Plateauing growth

Integrating the Vietnam unit amid a volatile economy and slower growth led to a goodwill impairment, dragging Thomson Medical into the red for FY2025.

 

Dr Heng framed the slowdown less as a demand problem than a timing and structure issue.

 

Vietnam&rsquo s private healthcare market, he said, is more exposed to retail consumers than Singapore or Malaysia, where insurance penetration is higher.

 

&ldquo We felt the growth could have been better,&rdquo Dr Heng said, noting that Vietnam has gone through major changes over the last two years, including political transitions and global trade tensions. &ldquo We do see that there&rsquo s a portion of consumers in healthcare that is actually quite sensitive to the macroeconomic changes.&rdquo

 

Despite that, he said recurring patient volumes at FV Hospital have remained solid, even as competition has intensified with new hospitals and healthcare groups entering the market.

 

&ldquo There is a little bit of dilution,&rdquo he said. &ldquo But net demand will only increase.&rdquo

 

Rising tide

While Singapore&rsquo s healthcare market is approaching saturation, Dr Heng sees faster growth ahead in Malaysia and Vietnam, where &ldquo the tide is rising&rdquo as population dynamics and consumption patterns remain favourable.

 

&ldquo The ceiling for healthcare consumption of the Vietnamese population is actually really high,&rdquo he said, noting Vietnam&rsquo s ageing population, rising middle class and growing government healthcare spending as supporting factors.

 

He acknowledged the lofty price paid for FV Hospital in the 2023 deal, which some have questioned, given the group&rsquo s high leverage, but stressed that hospital valuations in South-east Asia reflect the difficulty of replicating what he calls the &ldquo software&rdquo of healthcare &ndash clinical culture, safety protocols, accreditation standards and trained teams &ndash rather than just bricks and mortar.

 

Thomson plans to continue investing in Vietnam and Malaysia despite the challenging environment and short-term earnings hits, and aims to build a sustainable competitive edge.

 

One of them is its development of a 10.5 ha Johor Bay &ldquo mega project&rdquo worth more than RM18 billion (S$5.5 billion), integrating a hospital, specialist centre, assisted living and healthcare ancillaries.

 

The healthcare provider, which is controlled by Singapore tycoon Peter Lim, expects losses to persist in FY2026 as it expands facilities, develops digital health solutions and enhances cross-border capabilities.

 

&ldquo It takes a lot of money to build these (healthcare) services, which is reflected in some erosion of our Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation),&rdquo he said. &ldquo We&rsquo ve planted so many seeds, we want to at least grow some of them before we start to deleverage.&rdquo

 

 

Healthcare provider Thomson Medical Group on Monday (Aug 29) posted a 572.7 per cent jump in net profit for the second half of 2022.

 

This was on the back of revenue growth as a result of a rise in patient loads and higher average bill sizes.

 

The group also announced the resignation of chief executive Wong Chiang Yin, who is leaving to pursue personal interests. His last day will be on Sept 30. The board said it has identified a potential successor to Dr Wong and will be making an announcement at an appropriate time.

 

In its results announcement, Thomson Medical said net profit for the six months ended June 30 stood at $41.3 million, compared with a net profit of $6.1 million posted in the same period a year ago.

 

The results translate to earnings per share (EPS) of 0.156 cent against EPS of 0.023 cents in the year-ago period.

 

Revenue was up 52.2 per cent to $188.3 million from $123.8 million in the year before. In Singapore, revenue growth was further boosted by project-related services like managing vaccination centres, transitional care facilities and, previously, Covid-19 treatment facilities.

 

Revenue in Malaysia also continued to improve in the second half as patient loads increased and the group handled higher case intensity. A new expansion wing at Thomson Hospital Kota Damansara also opened in the second half of 2022.

 

The board has proposed a record special dividend of 0.115 cent per share for the full year ended June 30, compared with 0.015 cent in the year-ago period.

 

This comes as net profit for the full year surged 277.6 per cent to $53.8 million from $14.2 million, buoyed by higher patient loads, larger average bill size, Covid-19-related projects and the opening of the new wing in Malaysia.

 

EPS for the full year stood at 0.203 cent, compared with EPS of 0.054 cent in the year-ago period. Meanwhile, revenue was up 38.8 per cent to $333.7 million from $240.4 million.

 

Separately, Thomson Medical' s board has appointed Mr Lim Wee Kiat as executive vice-chairman. Mr Lim, who is the son of controlling shareholder Lim Eng Hock, currently oversees Thomson X, the group' s digital arm.

 

Mr Lim Wee Kiat' s appointment will be effective from Sept 1. He will be responsible for the group' s overall growth strategies and will work with the board to grow Thomson Medical' s business through mergers and acquisitions, particularly core hospital services in fast-growing South-east Asia economies, the board noted.