Swiss firm nominates former SSI Securities exec to board of Vietnam hospital chain

Switzerland-based investment company KWE Beteiligungen AG has nominated a former executive at broker SSI Securities Corporation to the board of directors of Thai Nguyen International Hospital JSC for the 2020-2025 tenure.

The nominee is Nguyen Thi Thuy Giang, former deputy director of institutional research & investment advisory at SSI.

Giang, 40, is now chief of Singapore’s Kenno Pte. Ltd's representative office in Hanoi and a member of the rating council at S&I Ratings.

The Swiss firm currently holds 11.58 million shares, or a 10.51% stake, in Thai Nguyen International Hospital, which was the first Vietnamese hospital to be listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange.

At its upcoming 2024 AGM, Thai Nguyen International Hospital (HoSE: TNH) will elect two additional board members for the 2020-2025 tenure following the expected resignation of independent member Nguyen Xuan Don. After the election, its board will have eight members, including chairman Hoang Tuyen and vice chairman cum general director Le Xuan Tan.

Regarding its business performance, TNH, a major private hospital chain in northern Vietnam, has been encountering some cost issues in its expansion strategy.

TNH is in the final stages of completing TNH Viet Yen Hospital in the northern province of Bac Giang. The 15-floor hospital, with 300 beds, has seen its capital expenditure climb by VND135 billion ($5.3 million) from the original cost to VND752.6 billion ($29.57 million).

TNH’s executives said that since work started on the hospital on February 2, materials and labor costs, as well as other expenses, have increased, resulting in cost overruns.

The second phase of the company's Yen Binh General Hospital in the northern province of Thai Nguyen has been delayed to 2026 from 2024, with the number of beds reduced to 50 from 150 due to rising material and labor costs. However, its total investment remains unchanged at VND227.66 billion ($10.88 million).

The firm has also adjusted the number of beds at TNH Thai Nguyen International Hospital in Thai Nguyen province and upgraded 50 to VIP standards, causing costs to climb from VND657.8 billion ($25.84 million) to VND803.24 billion ($31.56 million).

In addition, the firm began work on the 300-bed TNH Lang Son Hospital in the northern province of Lang Son in late February. Last September, it formed an affiliate, TNH Hanoi Hospital., JSC, to contribute 10% of the capital required to build a 500-bed hospital at the Ciputra urban site in Hanoi.

To finance its projects, TNH is issuing 15.2 million shares via a rights offering at a price of VND10,000 ($0.39) apiece. The proceeds will be used to pay off debts of VND92 billion ($3.61 million) to TNH board members and increase working capital.