Q & M Dental Group ( Singapore ) Ltd (“Q & M Dental Group” or the “Group”) announced that its joint venture partner, Dan De dental group, has opened a new dental centre in Nanjing city (“Nanjing Dental Centre”), the capital of Jiangsu Province in the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”).

From Bukit Batok to Beijing

Millet Enriquez

emelita@mediacorp.com.sg

SINGAPORE

“To attract dentists to join the practice is not an easy task,” said Dr Ng, the chief executive officer of Q & M Dental Group.

The Mainboard-listed firm currently has 120 dentists — which represents about 8 per cent of the registered dentists in Singapore. And to retain them, the company makes sure that their needs are met and that they are updated with the latest technology and industry knowledge, Dr Ng said.

“We can have all the hardware, the nurses and patients. But without a good set of dentists, a good pair of hands, it will not work,” he said.

Dr Ng, now 42, had to do all the leg work when he decided to invest $120,000 to open the first Q & M clinic in 1996. He sold his two-room HDB flat in Clementi to raise the money at a time when he was also just starting a family.

“That time, my eldest daughter was just born, but I had to make the decision to sell the flat,” he said.

With the help of three dental assistants, he treated patients from 9am to 9pm seven days a week. And the hard work paid off as he recouped his capital within the first year of operation.

Additional clinics were set up at Toa Payoh, Sims Place, Kallang and Sembawang in the following years as more well-known dental surgeons joined Dr Ng.

Today, Q & M has grown to 39 dental clinics, a dental centre and a mobile dental clinic in Singapore. Its services now include aesthetic dentistry, dental implants, orthodontics, oral surgery and general dental treatments. The company is set to open its 40th clinic in two months.

“I didn’t know that we were going to grow to this size. At that time, it was quite an interesting thing for me to set up more dental clinics in Singapore,” said Dr Ng.

Last year, Q & M went public on the Singapore Exchange, a move that Dr Ng said helped boost its profile and attracted more dentists to the company.

And to put into action its plans to expand in China, Q & M has partnered with two dental firms in Beijing and Nanjing, whose management teams also include practising dentists. Q & M plans to invest $37 million in the next three years to extend its brand in China. It intends to build 50 dental clinics there in five years.

The group is hoping to tap into the sizeable market in China, as higher living standards improve dental healthcare awareness. At the moment, less than 8 per cent of the population visit dentists yearly.

So far, it has invested $4.2 million for dental clinics in Beijing and Nanjing.

Q & M has also inked an agreement with a Chinese dental firm to invest another $5.4 million for a 49-per-cent stake in a dental laboratory business.— It has been 14 years since Dr Ng Chin Siau set up the first Q & M dental clinic in Bukit Batok. But he feels that the dental care industry faces the same challenge as in the past.

Q & M Dental Group CEO Dr Ng Chin Siau believes in updating his staff with the latest technology and industry knowledge.

S’pore Dental Group

Hi susan66 ,

I m sorry for the mistake  , what I meant was as compare to the same price last traded in April  on 12 ,13 n 14 , the past three day 's volume were much lower . Furthermore , RSI is already indicating the over-bought position . Any way , thanks for your comments .

Hi Bintang,

Can you enlighten me why you say daily volume is decreasing these few days? I see it as increasing especially these 3 days as compared to last Friday 2/7 at 251k : 5/7 - 1596k, 6/7 - 1313k, 7/7 - 1741k. I see the MACD is on the uptrend buying momentum getting stronger each day, going up steadily. The relative performance as compared to STI is so much stronger. Now the ADX is only 38, still room for improvement. So far can't see any downside risk yet. The next resistance I agree is at 53 cents but if break, maybe can reach 58 cents