KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (July 8): HS Bio Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hong Seng Consolidated Bhd, has formed a joint venture (JV) with LiGNO Holdings Sdn Bhd to market the latter’s medicinal products. Hong Seng stated in a bourse filing that both companies will own a 50 percent ownership in the JV venture, which aims to explore new markets and expand LiGNO’s consumer base.
LiGNO specializes in the cultivation of medicinal herbs and the manufacturing of supplements and is ISO22000, HACCP, GMP, halal, and organic certified.
Bird’s nest, cordyceps sinensis, and Tiger’s Milk mushrooms are among the company’s offerings.
The JV, according to Hong Seng, is in line with the company’s plans to grow its healthcare business and boost the segment’s overall contribution to the company.
“The board believes that by using HS Bio’s strengths, the JV will be able to supplement its healthcare-related business and potentially generate more helpful and efficacious health products for consumers through scientifically validated biotechnology technologies.”
“It will, in turn, contribute favorably to the group’s future earnings and improve the group’s financial situation through its healthcare division,” the company stated.
Executive director Christopher Chan of Hong Seng said the company is eager to work with LiGNO and that the latter’s products might benefit from Hong Seng’s cooperation with Fosun Group, which has a commercial presence in Greater China.
“LiGNO’s functional mushrooms have a lot of market potential due to their high medicinal value and benefits for liver, aging, immune, lung, and men’s health,” he said in a statement. “We believe it can reach a much wider consumer base in light of the rising trend of healthcare spending as well as the recent increase in number of respiratory diseases,” he added.
The share price of Hong Seng declined three sen, or 3.23 percent, to end at 90 sen, giving the company a market capitalization of RM2.12 billion./n
