C-Mer’s Lam is Hong Kong’s richest ophthalmologist, after shares soar fourfold in IPO week

Surge since listing on Monday also helped by new highs hit by Hang Seng Index

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Dr Dennis Lam Shun-chiu’s personal fortune has spiked to HK$9.31 billion. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Published: 9:00am, 21 Jan 2018Updated: 3:37am, 22 Jan 2018

Dr Dennis Lam Shun-chiu, the popular ophthalmologist who founded C-Mer Eye Care Holdings, has become Hong Kong’s richest eye doctor – and perhaps one of the world’s richest medical professionals.

C-Mer, the Hong Kong eye clinic backed by Tencent chairman and founder Pony Ma Huateng, has soared more than fourfold within a week of its listing. C-Mer, despite its small fundraising size of HK$571 million (US$73.04 million), was oversubscribed 1,568 times by retail investors, making it the city’s hottest initial public offering among mid to large cap stocks in 11 years.

Shares in C-Mer, which went public on Monday, closed on Friday at HK$12.88, up 340 per cent from its IPO price of HK$2.9. Dr Lam, who owns 72.3 per cent of C-Mer and is the company’s chief executive, has consequently seen his personal fortune spike to HK$9.31 billion (US$1.19 billion).

This makes him one of the world’s richest doctors, after US doctor James Leininger’s US$1.4 billion net worth, which currently ranks the American fifth on Forbes’ global list of top five billionaire doctors.

The surge in C-Mer stock was also helped by Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index, which repeatedly hit records last week, closing at an all-time high of 32,254.89 on Friday.