Pharmaniaga Plans Expansion In Saudi Arabia, Southeast Asia

By Dalila Abu Bakar KUALA LUMPUR, March 16 (Bernama) - Malaysia’s largest local pharmaceutical firm, Pharmaniaga Bhd plans to expand its market in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, particularly, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Myanmar and Vietnam. Chairman Lodin Wok Kamaruddin said the company is looking for growth opportunities in these countries including through mergers and acquisitions. “We are exploring opportunities in Saudi Arabia as it is a growing market. There is also potential for us to expand in neighbouring countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam and Myanmar. We already have a presence in a few Southeast Asian countries through joint ventures or collaborations but we want to do much more, ” Lodin told Bernama in an interview. He said there is room for Pharmaniaga to grow but the group's plan is to focus on improving delivery, which requires the company to expand the list of drugs that it is currently supplying to customers. “We believe we can do more. We have to improve on the delivery of the supply to meet the requirements of the markets,” Lodin said. According to Lodin, one of the ways to expand its product portfolio is by growing its halal drugs and herbal medicines. He also said that Pharmaniaga has been performing very well since it was taken over by Boustead Holdings Bhd and with the new management team in place. He noted that Pharmaniaga’s acquisition of a 51 per cent stake in Idaman Pharma Manufacturing would see improvement in costs, resulting from the streamlining and optimising of manufacturing facilities and production capacities. Pharmaniaga has also secured a 10-year concession agreement with the Health Ministry to supply drugs and medical items to 3,517 government hospitals and clinics nationwide beginning December 2009. It was reported that the contract was worth RM900 million a year. For the financial year ended Dec 31 2011, Pharmaniaga’s net profit surged 65.1 per cent to RM52.16 million from RM30.38 million a year ago. Lodin also said that Pharmaniaga is in the process of meeting the 25 percent public shareholding spread as required by Bursa Malaysia. “We are still a little bit short, around of 7-8 per cent to meet the required 25 percent. We hope to meet the 25 per cent before April or May,” Lodin said. He noted that Boustead, recently, had improved the public shareholding spread in Pharmaniaga from two per cent at the completion of its general offer to 17 per cent currently. He said Boustead, which acquired Pharmaniaga in 2010, might further pare down its shareholding in the pharmaceutical company to meet the 25 per cent public spread. As at February 20 this year, Boustead holds a 72.36 per cent stake in Pharmaniaga. (US$1=RM3.05) -- BERNAMA