TCM chain flourishes from local partership

A clerk weighs traditional Chinese medicine in a Tongrentang pharmacy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in November. Jiang Dong / China Daily

In Kuala Lumpur's bustling Jalan Bukit Bintang shopping street, a sign hangs from a storefront bearing two curious slogans.

On one side, it reads, "Despite complicated procedures, no human effort is spared"; and on the other, "Despite classic quality, no material resource is saved."

The slogans belong to the Tongrentang company, a long-established producer of traditional Chinese medicine, with a thriving chain of pharmacies across China. Based in Beijing and founded in 1669, Tongrentang was a provider of medicines for the royal pharmacy during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

The company set up business in Malaysia just 11 years ago and now has three pharmacies there. The shop in Jalan Bukit Bintang is its Kuala Lumpur branch.

Since its arrival in the country, Tongrentang has found Sino-Malaysian business partnerships an essential part of its survival. Hai-O Group, a local distributor that sells a wide range of Chinese herbal medicines, forged a joint venture company with Tongrentang in 2002.

Tan Kai Hee, group managing director of the Hai-O Group, said cooperation with Tongrentang has satisfied local demand for high-quality traditional Chinese medicines.

"We and Tongrentang share a large overlapping business area and are both leaders in the industry. In our partnership, Tongrentang provides medicine and doctors while Hai-O is in charge of administration, market expansion and daily operation of the stores," Tan said.

Tan, 76, is a household name in Chinese communities across Southeast Asia, famous for his early social activism and subsequent business success. In 1965, he was arrested by the Malaysian government for advocating left-wing activities and spent eight years in prison.

Hai-O, with an annual revenue of $80 million, was the fruit of his more recent business endeavors.

"Tongrentang can take full advantage of Hai-O's local resources - for example, more than 70 chain stores in Malaysia - to promote commercialization and marketing of their high-quality medicine," he said.

"Normally, there will be two or three experienced doctors of TCM sent by Tongrentang in residence at every store, and we also send staff to Beijing to learn from Tongrentang's exquisite medical practices," he said.

So far, Tongrentang has opened three branch stores in Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Petaling Jaya.

Wei Fukuan, a senior doctor with the Xuanwu TCM Hospital in Beijing, said TCM has an edge in tackling difficult miscellaneous diseases that Western medicine cannot diagnose.