PETALING JAYA, Oct 31 — Pharmaniaga Bhd has ventured into the second largest world consumer market, China, through inking a significant collaboration with JD.com, the republic’s biggest online company by revenue.
Pharmaniaga group managing director Datuk Zulkarnain Md Eusope said that the partnership would enable the company’s access to 570 million JD.com users and subsequently to a population of over 1.4 billion in China.
“We need a high calibre partner and have chosen JDMas Commerce Sdn Bhd, the operator of JD.com, to commercialise our products as JDMas already possessed an established logistics and distribution network in China.
“Tapping China’s market is not easy especially for pharmaceutical products.
“However, as Pharmaniaga’s products are highly recognised and certified by local as well as international regulatory bodies, we are confident that this collaboration will be a huge potential growth for Pharmaniaga,” said Zulkarnain at the signing of a memorandum of understanding with JDmas here today.
To kick-start the initiative, Pharmaniaga plans to initially list its over-the-counter (OTC) products including Citrex Vitamin C, Citrex Gummies, Baraka Habbatus Sauda, and Sweet Royale in the Malaysian Pavilion on the platform by January 2023, he said.
The collaboration would also leverage on the technology- and data-driven platforms provided by JD.com and its affiliates such as Douyin, Kwaishou and WeChat.
Zulkarnain also said the partnership is expected to increase the current revenue of the star OTC products by 100 per cent to 150 per cent in the first year, with expected revenue to reach US$30 million by 2025 with other products being introduced on the JD.com platform.
Meanwhile, JDMas managing director Datuk Bruce Lim said as an official partner, it would help Pharmaniaga get on the business-to-consumer (B2C) ecommerce platform, targeting consumers first.
“Once we have established that, we will explore other ways of distribution, such as business-to-business (B2B) platform, and continue to add layers of complexity as we grow.
“We would need about six months to understand the market data and determine the next course of action,” said Lim.
Pharmaniaga is a leading pharmaceutical company whose major shareholders are Boustead Holdings Bhd and Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera.
