SINGAPORE - Clearbridge Health began its trading debut on Monday (Dec 18) flat against its initial public offering price (IPO) of 28 cents but rose as much as 7.1 per cent or two cents to 30 cents later in the session.

It had fallen back to 28 cents by around 3.30pm with 8.5 million shares changing hands, making it one of the more active stocks.

The Asia-focused firm, which provides services in the precision medicine field, sold 88 million shares in an all-placement offering on the Catalist board. The IPO price valued the company at $134.7 million.

Clearbridge raised $21.4 million through the IPO, of which $11 million will be used to expand the medical clinics business. A further $3 million will go to expanding the group's laboratory testing services business with the rest earmarked for working capital.

Executive director and chief executive Jeremy Yee said in a statement: "We are confident of the huge potential for greater adoption of precision medicine in Singapore and around the region.

"We believe (it) is the future of healthcare. We are grateful for the strong support from the investment community and we hope that our listing will serve as a strategic springboard for Clearbridge Health to grow our brand, scale and presence across Asia."

There are now 35 healthcare companies listed here with a combined market capitalisation of about $55 billion, according to Singapore Exchange data.