KUALA LUMPUR: Hong Seng Consolidated Bhd’s unit HS Bio Sdn Bhd is buying a 51% stake in Pow Pocket Sdn Bhd for RM200mil cash consideration which plans to roll out a nationwide end-to-end private Covid-19 vaccine programme.

       In a statement on Friday, it said Pow Pocket’s programme to be known as “Immunise”, is an open and inclusive platform to capture the demand for booster and juvenile vaccination shots in the country.

       Pow Pocket operates Jengu, a web-based digital health engine dedicated to Covid-19 screening, vaccination, and digital health.

       It also operates the ImmuPlan portal, an exclusive digital platform for public and private vaccination rolls out in Johor under the guidance of the Johor Biotechnology & Biodiversity Corporation.

       Currently, Pow Pocket is also HS Bio’s partner in Neogenix Sdn Bhd (a 60% owned subsidiary of HS Bio and Pow Pocket owns a 40% equity interest in Neogenix Sdn Bhd) in operating a web portal known as https://johortravelsafe.my/.

       This portal registers and performs health screenings for inbound travellers into Johor at immigration points at the Sultan Iskandar Building (BSI) located at the northern end of the Johor-Singapore Causeway and Sultan Abu Bakar Complex (KSAB) at the northern end of the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link through Neogenix Laboratoire Sdn Bhd (a 60% owned subsidiary of HS Bio).

       On Sept 29, Pow Pocket inked a collaboration with eMedAsia Sdn Bhd (a 52% subsidiary of HS Bio) and the parties are co-operating with each other in the integration of business development activities centered around health services and the digitalisation of these services to make healthcare more accessible.

       The vendor of the 51% stake in Pow Pocket is Russell Walter Boyd.

       The RM200mil cash consideration is to be satisfied via the issuance of new ordinary shares in HS subject to Pow Pocket achieving a profit after taxation of RM400mil within 12 months from the completion of the definitive agreement.