OSIM International's founder and chief executive, Mr Ron Sim Chye Hock, has bought 410,000 shares of the healthy-lifestyle products company. The purchase was made on the open market last Friday and announced on Monday.

Mr Sim bought the shares at an average price of 58.59 cents a piece.

The transaction raises his direct stake from 287.6 million shares to about 288 million shares, or about 53.16 per cent of the company's issued share capital.

Mr Sim has been keen on boosting his holdings in OSIM of late, in an attempt to boost confidence in growth prospects of the company, which is battling losses and tough competition from other firms offering similar products.

In September this year, Mr Sim made a similar purchase of 500,000 shares for an average price of 59.8 cents per share which raised his direct stake to 124.9 million shares.

This was followed by another purchase on Nov 2, when he snapped up two million OSIM shares on the open market at about 61 cents a piece.

OSIM shares have been on the decline of late. The share price has fallen 56.1 per cent this year, compared to a 12.95 per cent gain in the Straits Times Index.

The stock rose one cent, or 1.65 per cent to close at 61.5 cents yesterday, after having fallen as low as 56 cents last month.