When German-trained lawyer Cheryl Baumann and her businessman husband first toyed with the idea of setting up a Lasik clinic here in 2005, their doctor friends discouraged them, saying Lasik was a sunset industry.

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But she saw otherwise.

'Just look at the people in the streets. More than half of them are wearing spectacles. Chances are, many of those without spectacles have contact lenses on,' she said.

The couple set up the Lasik Surgery Clinic at Paragon Medical Centre that year and have not looked back since.

Within the next three years, they went on to open 12 more clinics in Singapore and the Philippines under the Singapore Medical Group (SMG) brand. The new clinics specialise in sports medicine, aesthetic treatments, vision and critical illnesses.

By the end of this year, SMG will have opened two more clinics in Singapore. It is also planning to open clinics in Japan and Vietnam.

Although most of SMG's business revolves around elective procedures, Dr Baumann, 40, is not worried that fewer people may want to splash their cash on Lasik or liposuction during bad times.

'There are also a fair number of people, especially businessmen, who only now have the time to go for Lasik treatments. More people also feel the need to look good during recession time so they may have better career chances.'

She believes that this is the best time to plan and expand the business because 'when the good times come, we can move into top gear'.

Dr Baumann was born in China and studied for her doctorate in law in Germany. She moved to Singapore with her Singaporean husband in 2005.

SMG's 13 clinics have so far seen about 30,000 patients. She said: 'The Government is promoting Singapore as a medical hub. Already, we are seeing patients from Europe and the United States coming here for medical treatment because prices here are lower. There is a lot of potential in this industry.'

Nur Dianah Suhaimi

This article was first published in The Straits Times.