Q&M Dental makes cash offer for remaining Aoxin Q&M shares at S$0.0321 each
In a bourse filing on Thursday (May 1), Aoxin Q&M's board informed shareholders that Q&M had released the offer document on Wednesday. The board also announced plans to appoint an independent financial adviser to guide its independent directors on the offer.
The offer will close at 5.30 pm on May 28. If fully accepted, Q&M will pay around S$8.1 million for the offer shares.
The development follows Q&M's recent increase in its stake in Catalist-listed Aoxin Q&M from 33.33 per cent to 50.53 per cent. In line with Rule 14.1 of the Singapore Code on Take-overs and Mergers, Q&M is required to make a cash offer for all remaining shares not already owned, controlled, or agreed to be acquired by the group.
The increase in stake comes after Q&M acquired 87,973,480 shares from Health Field Enterprises Limited (HFEL) under a share security agreement dated Oct 12, 2016, which HFEL had entered into in favour of Q&M.
The transaction was completed at a volume-weighted average price (VWAP) of S$0.0321 per share, based on trades conducted on Apr 22, 2025, the last full market day on which Aoxin's shares were traded before a trading halt was imposed on Apr 28.
BT in your inbox
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
Sign Up
Sign Up
This acquisition represents a partial settlement of profit guarantee obligations owed by Dr Shao Yongxin, executive director and group CEO of Aoxin, and HFEL under a master agreement dated Nov 13, 2013.
This follows Q&M's issuance of a letter of demand on Apr 18 to Dr Shao for 72.3 million yuan (S$13 million), arising from shortfalls in profit guarantees. Despite repeated reminders, Dr Shao and HFEL have failed to meet their obligations or propose a reasonable alternative, Q&M said.
Under the share security arrangement, Q&M was entitled to transfer the relevant number of Aoxin shares held by HFEL to an independent third party for sale. Proceeds, after deducting transaction costs, would then be used to cover the shortfall.
However, Q&M said 'no suitable third-party buyers were found by the independent third-party despite using its reasonable endeavours'. As a result, the group has opted to acquire the 87,973,480 Aoxin shares from HFEL directly on Apr 30, at S$0.0321 per share, as partial settlement of the outstanding amount.
'Aoxin's businesses are complementary to the group's business, and the acquisition of Aoxin shares via the security enforcement is aligned with the group's strategy to expand its assets and earnings base,' added Q&M.
The group also stated it does not intend to make any material changes to Aoxin's business operations following the acquisition, and plans to maintain the company's listing status on the Singapore Exchange.
Shares of Q&M last traded flat at S$0.29 on Apr 30, while shares of Aoxin Q&M last traded at S$0.03 before its trading halt on the morning of Apr 28.
On Thursday evening, Aoxin requested to lift its trading halt.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Times
5 hours ago
- Business Times
Chinese firms set for record US listings, undeterred by geopolitics
[SHANGHAI / HONG KONG] A record number of Chinese companies are seeking a US listing this year as onerous domestic listing rules and the prospect of better valuations convince them to brave volatile Sino-US relations and US calls for strict oversight of Chinese firms. In the first half of 2025, 36 mostly small and mid-sized Chinese companies went public in the US, following a record-breaking year of 64 in 2024, said law firm K&L Gates. Many of those firms went public through special purpose acquisition companies (Spacs) – listed companies set up to buy mainly startups, making the startups public without them having to go through the lengthy initial public offering process. Waiting to list on the Nasdaq are more than 40 Chinese companies, including a mobile advertising service provider and a traditional Chinese medicine maker, Chinese disclosure showed. That number, which excludes confidentially filed listing applications, will take the annual tally of Chinese firms going public in the US to a new high if all materialise this year. 'I think it's a healthy year for Chinese IPOs. It will probably be a record year or near that,' said David Bartz, partner at K&L Gates, who has built a 'robust' pipeline of Chinese clients seeking first-time share sales in the US BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Chinese firms have had a harder time going public at home since the government tightened listing rules in 2023, raising the appeal of listing via Spacs in the US, as well as that country's deeper pool of capital. Pursuing a US listing amounts to a bet that calls from US lawmakers aimed at diminishing Chinese access to the world's largest capital market can only go so far, bankers and lawyers said. One listing hopeful is racing car manufacturer Xinghui Car Technology, whose head raised a toast at a Shanghai hotel in June to celebrate a major step towards going public in the US 'The US capital market is one of the world's biggest. It's liquid and allows easy access to funding,' said Xinghui chairman Song Wenfang upon signing a preliminary agreement to be acquired by Nasdaq-listed Spac UY Scuti. Since Xinghui's celebrations, investors have pushed US share prices to record highs, expecting trade deals to be the beginning of the end of uncertainty wrought by months of US President Donald Trump threatening to impose steep tariffs. The China Securities Regulatory Commission, which oversees Chinese firms' offshore sales of securities, did not respond to a request for comment. Spac surge Over 100 Chinese firms, including technology leaders Alibaba, and Baidu, are US-listed, boasting a combined market value of about US$1 trillion as of March, showed data from the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission. In April, tearoom chain Chagee debuted on the Nasdaq after raising US$411 million in the biggest IPO of a Chinese firm in the US this year. Of those seeking to list, a growing number are pre-profit or even pre-revenue startups, mainly in the tech sector, aiming for a quicker means of raising capital through a Spac listing, said Karen Mu, managing director at Alliance Global Partners. That demand has contributed to the total number of firms listing in the US via Spacs almost doubling last year to 57 and climbing to 76 so far this year, showed SPACInsider data. The increased Chinese interest, however, has caught the attention of US lawmakers who called for the delisting of Chinese firms from US exchanges as recently as May citing national security concerns. In June, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) singled out China as it sought to raise disclosure requirements for listing hopefuls. A spokesperson for SEC declined to comment on the Chinese listing trend beyond saying the regulator gathers information on the number of all foreign companies listed on US exchanges. Spokespersons for the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq declined to comment. Domestic hurdles The rush of Chinese listing hopefuls heading West is being fuelled by high regulatory thresholds for listing at home as well as criteria skewed to spur growth of sectors in line with national interests. In China, a company needs to exceed a certain size or be profitable to qualify for a main-board listing. Alternatively, to list on tech boards, firms need to align with government self-sufficiency goals or achieve set levels of productivity. 'In the US, as long as you can meet objective rules set by regulators, you can go public,' said Steve Markscheid, managing partner of Aerion Capital, who also serves as independent director of several US-listed Chinese companies. 'Things are more subjective in China. The regulator needs to analyse whether the company is good or not. Only companies judged as good can go public.' It takes nine to 12 months on average for an IPO candidate in China to secure regulatory approval, compared to six to nine months in Hong Kong and four to six months in New York, showed an analysis from Merits & Tree Law Offices. The lengthy approval process and high listing thresholds means that for startups, 'listing in China becomes mission impossible,' said Xinghui deal adviser Ronald Shuang of Shanghai-based investment company Balloch Holding. REUTERS
Business Times
10 hours ago
- Business Times
‘Champions League' mindset drives more SEA founders to US
FELIX Lee still keeps his diary from the one-month solo trip he took to San Francisco in 2018. Then 19 and fresh out of pre-university, the Singaporean entrepreneur had just sold his trip-planning startup, Packdat, to an Indonesian-listed SIM card provider. Meeting at least three new people each day on that trip, Lee jotted down everything he saw, heard, and learned. His goal? To answer one question: Why do amazing ideas seem to be born only in Silicon Valley? Later, it clicked: 'What we lack, in South-east Asia, is not resources, but the guts,' said Lee. Many founders in Silicon Valley do not rely on earning credentials or establishing networks before starting a company, he observed. Instead, they head straight to San Francisco in hopes of building the next billion-dollar startup. Lee did not see the same spirit in Singapore. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 8.30 am Asean Business Business insights centering on South-east Asia's fast-growing economies. Sign Up Sign Up Fast forward to today, he has spent over half a year in San Francisco building ADPList, a platform connecting individuals with mentors, mostly within tech. Lee is not the only South-east Asian founder who's making the US their home base, though. With funding in South-east Asia declining for three straight years, it's no surprise that more founders in the region are chasing other markets. Regional investors have also tended to stick to tried-and-tested sectors such as e-commerce and fintech, compared to their US counterparts who have large risk appetites. This makes the latter more attractive to emerging and deep tech companies. Tech in Asia has compiled a list of 78 South-east Asian founders of 66 companies that are now based in the US. Among these founders, 19 relocated after building firms in the region, while the rest have been based in the country from the start. While not exhaustive, the list paints a picture of an increase in founders choosing to grow their businesses in a market that they think gives them the best shot at becoming a global company. If you are a founder considering moving to the US, our list can be a starting point for you. Go big, go stateside Nearly two-thirds or 52 of the founders on our list are based in California, which tops our list of US states. Most are AI startups, and of these, a majority, or 14 of 15, are located there. It's no surprise, AI founders want to be where Big Tech lives. New York ranks second with 14 South-east Asian founders. Half of them are building firms in the healthtech and fintech sectors in the state, the world's top financial centre and a rising healthtech hub. That said, not every founder heads to the hubs of the West or East Coast. Cuong Pham, co-founder and CEO of Eureka Robotics, recently relocated his family from Singapore to Atlanta, Georgia. In June, his company, a supplier of robotics solutions to manufacturers, opened its fourth office in the US state, following Singapore, Vietnam, and Japan. Atlanta is a major transportation hub that helps the company reach customers across the US, according to Pham. Eureka Robotics co-founders Hung Pham (left) and Cuong Pham. PHOTO: EUREKA ROBOTICS 'From day one, I knew I'd have to come to America,' he recalls. That moment came after Eureka Robotics raised US$10.5 million in a series A round in December 2024. The US offers a massive opportunity in manufacturing. The market is 5x to 6x larger than Japan's and hundreds of times bigger than Singapore's, Pham shares. But it's not just about market size. In the US, it takes six months to go from initial conversation to a confirmed order. That's 2x to 3x faster than in Singapore or Japan. US buyers are also more willing to sign larger contracts with new vendors. 'Generating revenue quickly is paramount for a startup,' Pham explained. 'That's why, as CEO, I have to be in the US to drive sales myself.' He expects revenue from the US to surpass the total from all other markets starting in 2026. Like Pham, ADPList's Lee has observed that US users make up a sizable share of his customer base. Currently, 38 per cent of the platform's users and 80 per cent of its revenue come from the country. To test if the product truly resonated in the US, Lee spent three months in the country in mid-2022 and organised ADPList's first meetup. The turnout exceeded his expectations. Since then, he has been spending increasing amounts of time in San Francisco. He's also preparing to move there full-time later this year. This planned move signals his commitment to the market, especially to investors, because it shows he's serious, said Lee. Big league, bigger costs Every rose has its thorn, and the US market is no exception. For Kenneth Lou, co-founder and CEO of healthtech firm Mito Health, moving to New York in 2024 meant entering an intensely competitive arena. His team, spread across the US and Singapore, is 'up against some huge monsters', he said. These include US-based Superpower and a16z-backed Function, which has raised US$53 million to date. In contrast, Mito Health has raised only US$3.5 million so far. Still, the country offers a much larger market than South-east Asia, considering its huge population and deeper pockets. From left: Mito Health founders Dr Ryan Ware, Kenneth Lou, Joel Kek, and Tee-Ming Chew. PHOTO: MITO HEALTH Another key hurdle for South-east Asian founders in the US is labour cost. There are also the challenges that come with managing a team across 12- to 14-hour time differences. For the same role, each headcount in the US can cost twice as much as in Singapore, as per Eureka Robotics' Pham. As such, less than 10 per cent of the company's 60 employees are based in the US. They handle crucial on-site roles such as sales and engineering support. Meanwhile, the core R&D engineers remain in Singapore and Vietnam. For small startups such as ADPList and Mito Health, US-based hires are focused on functions that require deep local insight, like growth or marketing. Its engineering or design teams, meanwhile, are still in South-east Asia. Relocating staff to the US remains a tall order, even for well-funded companies. Not every employee volunteers for the move, and those who do face unpredictable visa hurdles under Donald Trump's administration. Ambition's price tag Not everyone is cut out for a big move across the world, however. Melvin Yuan, who first moved to the US in 2013 in search of a larger market for his real-time location analytics startup, YFind Technologies, knows this first-hand. Today, he lives in San Francisco, running Stellar – a company that handles back-office operations for firms in both Singapore and the US. Stellar founder and CEO Melvin Yuan. PHOTO: STELLAR Relocating to the country, for him, meant restarting life in a pricier, unfamiliar place. For those with families, uprooting and helping kids adjust to a new school system is doubly challenging. 'You have to work extra hard to set up life all over again, build a whole new network to get into the market,' Yuan shares. 'If you are not ambitious, you probably don't want to be here.' Mito Health's Lou echoes this sentiment. He said that it was 'not easy' for him and his wife to leave their families, especially his mother, who lives alone in Singapore. But Lou thinks the sacrifice is worth it.
Straits Times
12 hours ago
- Straits Times
Here are the 10 best-performing ETFs on SGX
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox As at June, Singapore's ETF market comprised 47 listings with total assets under management reaching $14.3 billion, up 32 per cent year on year. SINGAPORE - Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) have recorded net inflows of $700 million in the first half of 2025, according to the local bourse's latest ETF Market Highlights report. This is supported by $1.2 billion in net creations across 22 ETFs, alongside $500 million in net redemptions from 13 ETFs. As at June, Singapore's ETF market comprised 47 listings with total assets under management (AUM) reaching $14.3 billion, up 32 per cent year on year. Equity and gold ETFs led the growth, with turnover increasing by 69 per cent and 62 per cent, respectively. Retail segment turnover also saw strong momentum, climbing 67 per cent. Inflows for Singapore-focused ETFs stood at $568 million, driven by declining Singapore dollar rates and robust market momentum. In particular, the combined AUM of the SPDR Straits Times Index ETF and Nikko AM Singapore STI ETF hit a record high of $2.8 billion in June. Here are the top 10 SGX-listed ETFs in terms of total returns for the first half of 2025. As a gauge, the US S&P 500 is up more than 8 per cent this year. 1. SPDR Gold Shares The SPDR Gold Shares ETF tracks the performance of gold bullion, with its underlying index being LBMA Gold Price PM. As such, it provides investors with direct exposure to gold prices without the need to hold physical metal. Its return rate was the highest among all SGX-listed ETFs for the half year at 17 per cent. With growing geopolitical uncertainties and robust safe-haven demand, the ETF saw record inflows and AUM, as holdings surged 75 per cent year on year to reach $2.4 billion in June 2025. 2. Phillip SING Income ETF The top Singapore equity ETF for H1 of this year offers exposure to 30 high-yielding SGX-listed stocks screened for quality and financial health. Its interest is in income-focused strategies and has a dividend yield of 3.6 per cent. It tracks the Morningstar Singapore Yield Focus Index and saw a return of 11.9 per cent for the half year and nearly 26 per cent for the full year. 3. Lion-Nomura Japan Active ETF (Powered by AI) An actively managed ETF using artificial intelligence (AI)-driven models to select constituents from Japan's Tokyo Stock Price Index, its returns for the first half year was at 11.7 per cent. Its total returns for one year stood at 13.8 per cent. The Lion-Nomura Japan Active ETF is the second best performing equity ETF on SGX for the half year. 4. Lion-OCBC Securities Hang Seng Tech ETF The ETF tracks the Hang Seng Tech Index, and provides exposure to 30 of the largest Chinese tech firms listed in Hong Kong, such as Tencent, Alibaba, and Meituan. Its first half year return stood at 10.4 per cent. The Lion-OCBC Securities Hang Seng Tech ETF continued to perform well amid China's stimulus efforts and optimism on AI-related technologies despite broader macro challenges. Its top three sectors are consumer discretionary, communications and information technology, with its AUM standing at $378 million as at May 2025. 5. Lion-OCBC Securities APAC Financials Dividend Plus ETF This ETF tracks top dividend-paying financial stocks across Apac via the iEdge APAC Financials Dividend Plus Index, with a 9.9 per cent return recorded for the period. It is able to offer stable income and quality exposure to the region's banking and insurance sectors, and benefits from regional rate cut expectations. The Lion-OCBC Securities APAC Financials Dividend Plus ETF is the fourth top-performing equity SGX-listed ETF for the half year. 6. Xtrackers FTSE Vietnam Swap UCITS ETF This ETF offers exposure to Vietnam's equity market, which made gains on manufacturing recovery and foreign direct investment inflows. It tracks the FTSE Vietnam Index, and benefits from Vietnam's export-driven growth and regional supply chain shifts. For the first half, its return stood at 9.9 per cent. It is the fifth top-performing equity SGX-listed ETF for the half year. 7. CGS-Fullgoal Vietnam 30 Sector Capped ETF The CGS-Fullgoal Vietnam 30 Sector Capped ETF tracks 30 of Vietnam's top-performing sectors with caps to prevent over-concentration. It gives investors balanced exposure across financials, industrials, and consumer sectors – key growth drivers in the country's economy. The ETF's underlying index is the SGX iEdge Vietnam 30 Index, and recorded a first-half return of 9.7 per cent. 8. Xtrackers MSCI Singapore UCITS ETF The ETF benefited from the recovery in property and banking stocks, and Singapore dollar-focused investor sentiment amid falling local rates. It provides exposure to large-, mid-, and small-cap Singapore companies by tracking the MSCI Singapore Investable Market Total Return Net Index, with a first half return of 9.7 per cent. 9. UOB APAC Green REIT ETF Focused on high-yield real estate investment trusts (Reits) across Apac with strong ESG credentials, the UOB APAC Green Reit ETF achieved the best half year performance among the five Reit ETFs listed on the SGX. It tracks the iEdge-UOB APAC Yield Focus Green Reit Index, with a first half half return at 9.3 per cent. The ETF recorded the highest returns among SGX's sustainability-linked ETFs as well for H1 of this year. 10. Xtrackers MSCI China UCITS ETF This ETF offers broad exposure to Chinese equities including tech, financials, and consumer names, as its underlying index is the MSCI China TR Net Daily USD Index. For the half year, its returns stood at 8.9 per cent. It tracks the performance of large and mid-cap Chinese companies across A Shares, H Shares, B Shares, Red Chips, P Chips and foreign listings. Reit ETFs see new AUM all-time high; S-Reits record strong distribution yield Amid the current murky geopolitical and global trade climate, SGX-listed Reit ETFs displayed strength in the first half, with S-Reit ETFs offering highest returns in June. S-Reit ETFs also have the highest gross dividend indicated yields of up to 6 per cent now. The AUM value of Reit ETFs achieved a new record of nearly $1.2 billion, surpassing the last high in September 2024 of around $1 billion. UOB APAC Green Reit ETF recorded the top half-year returns level of 9.3 per cent followed by Phillip APAC Div Reit ETF with 7.5 per cent. CSOP iEdge S-Reit ETF was the best performer for the month of June, returning 4.7 per cent. The five Reit ETFs pay out an average dividend of close to 5.2 per cent, with the CSOP iEdge S-Reit ETF's 12-month gross yield at about 6 per cent. According to SGX data in June, retail investors were the net buyers of S-Reits, as the sector received a total net retail inflow of around $400 million as at June 26.
