Pharmaniaga inks MOU to commercialise products in China (The Edge Market)

(From left) Pharmaniaga Bhd group executive director Zulkifli Jafar, JD.com commercial country manager Elvin Lim, Pharmaniaga group managing director Datuk Zulkarnain Md Eusope, chairman Datuk Seri Zainal Abidin Mohd Rafique, JDMas Commerce Sdn Bhd MD Datuk Bruce Lim, executive director Desmond Ng and project director Eizaz Azhar during the signing ceremony as part of Pharmaniaga's strategy to enter the Chinese market, especially in the consumer and wellness business.
  • October 31, 2022
  • Written by Surin Murugiah
  • Published in The Edge Market

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 31): Pharmaniaga Bhd has inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with JDMas Commerce Sdn Bhd to commercialise Pharmaniaga’s over-the-counter (OTC) and subsequently pharmaceutical products in China through JD.com, with the support of JDMas.

Through the MOU, JDMas will be partnering with Pharmaniaga to register, import, distribute and market Pharmaniaga’s OTC and other healthcare products in China.

JDMas will also support the group in terms of regulatory advisory services, commercial trade and supply chain operations in the Chinese market.

In a statement on Monday (Oct 31), Pharmaniaga said JDMas, an official partner of JD.com — China’s largest and the world’s third online retailer — was established and recognised by various agencies, such as Malaysia External Trade Development Corp (Matrade) and the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, and supported by the Malaysia-China Business Council and Malaysia Digital Economy Corp (MDEC).

It said JDMas is the only Malaysia National Pavilion recognised by the Government of Malaysia, and holds key account or flagship store status on JD.com.

The MOU was signed by Pharmaniaga group managing director Datuk Zulkarnain Md Eusope and JDMas MD Datuk Bruce Lim.

Zulkarnain said the collaboration between Pharmaniaga and JDMas is part of the group’s strategy to enter the Chinese market, especially in the consumer and wellness business.

“We aim to build a strong and sustainable strategic business partnership that benefits both parties.

“Expansion into international markets has always been one of our strategic business goals, and we have paved our ways to make our presence felt in the Southeast Asian countries, the Gulf region and Europe market,” he said.

Zulkarnain said this is also part of the group’s international foray, especially in China that has almost 570 million JD.com users.

He said to kick-start the initiative, the group plans to initially list its star OTC products — Citrex Vitamin C, Citrex Gummies, Baraka, Habbatus Sauda, Sweet Royale and also other OTCs products — in the Malaysian Pavilion of JD.com by January 2023, and leverage extensive technology-driven platforms provided by JD.com and its affiliates, such as Douyin, Kwaishou and WeChat.

“JDMas will be collaborating with Pharmaniaga to plan product placement on the JD.com platform, through advertising campaigns, customer surveys, brand ambassadors, and other various marketing strategies,” he said.

Zulkarnain said the collaboration between Pharmaniaga and JD.com is expected to increase current revenue from the star OTC products by 100% to 150% in the first year, with revenue projected to reach an estimated US$30 million (RM141.81 million) by 2025 and other products being introduced on the dynamic JD.com platform.

At the midday break on Monday, Pharmaniaga had added 0.91% or half a sen to 55.5 sen, with 228,000 shares traded.

Source: https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/pharmaniaga-inks-mou-commercialise-products-china

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