KUALA LUMPUR: Shares in Key Alliance Group Bhd jumped 20% in early trade Monday after securing a RM32mil contract from the Ministry of Health (MoH).

       The counter rose 20%, or 0.5 sen to three sen at 9.42am. Key Alliance-WC jumped 50%, or 0.5 sen to 1.5 sen.

       Key Alliance said its associate, Tree Med Sdn Bhd, secured the four-year contract from MoH. The contract is to supply reagents instrument placement for centralised chemical pathology test for hospitals in Kedah.

       Reagents are commonly used to test for the presence of certain substances, as the binding of reagents to the substance or other related substances triggers certain reactions, it said.

       The reagents will be sent to Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah Alor Setar, Hospital Sultan Abdul Halim Sungai Petani, Hospital Kulim, Hospital Sultanah Maliha Pulau Langkawi, Hospital Jitra, Hospital Kuala Nerang, Hospital Sik, Hospital Yan, and Hospital Baling.