Namwiwat Medical Corporation (Nam), a Thai sterilised medical equipment maker and seller, aims to become a key manufacturer on the global stage by partnering with national oil and gas conglomerate PTT Plc following a successful expansion in Southeast Asia.
The company recently sold a 17.6% stake worth 800 million baht to PTT and is preparing to raise more funds through an initial public offering (IPO), said Viroj Chaiturdkiet, chief executive of Nam.
PTT is strengthening its position in the healthcare business through its biotechnology subsidiary Innobic (Asia), which earlier forged an agreement with the Government Pharmaceutical Organization and Taiwan-based Lotus Pharmaceutical.
Nam and Innobic agreed to synergise their expertise to further grow Nam's business in the global market.
"We already expanded our business in the Indochina region and China," said Mr Viroj.
"It is now time for us to scale up our company."
The market value of sterilised medical equipment in Thailand is 10 billion baht. The value increases to 40-50 billion baht in the Asean market, according to the company.
Nam also imports medical equipment from Argentina, Finland, Italy and Switzerland to sell in Thailand.
Under its IPO scheme, the company plans to sell a maximum of 181 million shares, around 25.86% of the total, on the Stock Exchange of Thailand, with Finnex Advisory Co and Thanachart Securities as its financial advisors.
The share sale should lower the proportion held by the Chaiturdkiet family to 59.14%, down from 82.35%, while Innobic's shareholding will dip to 15%.
Proceeds from the IPO are expected to be allotted for capital spending, with roughly 500 million baht allocated over three years to improve its factory in Samut Prakan and expand the compound.
Mr Viroj said he believes the sterilised medical equipment business will keep growing, following the impact of Covid-19, as future outbreaks of communicable diseases could happen, creating a need for sterilised medical equipment.
The company has 2,000 state and private hospitals as its main customers.
Last year Nam earned 1.1 billion baht, up from 1 billion in 2021.
The company's net profit in 2022 increased 3% to 175 million baht, up from 170 million in 2021.
Nam is conducting a pilot project to turn infected waste from a hospital into refuse-derived fuel, known as RDF, for power generation.
This project is being carried out in conjunction with King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital.
