KUALA LUMPUR (March 31): Health supplement company Bioalpha Holdings Bhd has received approval from China’s local authority to develop a 21-acre Malaysian Agricultural Hub in Hainan.

In a statement on Friday (March 31), the group said the initial phase of the hub will focus on the upstream and downstream activities such as formulation, manufacturing and even commercialisation of functional food products using Malaysian indigenous and tropical herbs.

“Within the hub, the planned development of a research and development facility and factory complex on site can further bolster the group’s formulation and manufacturing activities.

“As announced earlier in July 2022, this endeavour will also allow Bioalpha to be eligible for tax incentives and exemptions offered by the local government,” Bioalpha explained.

Bioalpha managing director William Hon said the hub, which will take three to five years to complete, is expected to contribute positively to the group.

“Having received the approval by the authority for our Master Development Plan, we are now working on the next steps in order to get the project to kick off. As part of our strategic focus to grow our presence in Hainan, we have also established our China headquarters there,” he said.

“Besides our involvement to develop the hub, we also supply health foods to customers in Guizhou, China. Leveraging the group’s infrastructure and resources in China, we have ready capacity and are able to facilitate and expedite orders more efficiently,” Hon added.

Bioalpha has been a loss-making company since the financial year ended Dec 31, 2020 (FY2020).

In FY2022, the group widened its net loss to RM46.7 million from RM1.3 million a year earlier as revenue declined to RM35.8 million from RM96.7 million.

“All in all, we are focused on executing our strategic initiatives in China, particularly in Hainan, to capitalise on arising opportunities. To support our plans, we have expanded our headcount and hired new experienced talents in China to accelerate our expansion,” Hon concluded.

At Friday's noon break, Bioalpha's share price was unchanged at 11.5 sen, with a market value of RM133.36 million.