Malaysian private equity firm Creador Sdn Bhd has become a strategic shareholder in Vietnamese drugstore chain Long Chau with a 13% stake. The deal’s value has not been disclosed.

Vietnam’s leading retail firm FPT Retail remains the controlling shareholder of the Ho Chi Minh City-based pharmacy chain. FPT Retail chief executive officer Hoang Trung Kien says Kuala Lumpur-headquartered Creador is “a partner that has both financial capability and experience in both pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors”.

Selling a 13% stake to Creador marks Long Chau’s first-ever fundraising round and Creador’s second investment in Vietnam.

The Malaysian private equity firm completed its first investment in Vietnam in early 2018 by committing 994 billion dong ( US$43.8 million ) to Mobile World Group, the country’s leading mobile device and consumer electronics retailer. Also based in Ho Chi Minh City, Mobile World Group expanded to the drugstore chain sector by totally acquiring chain pharmacy An Khang.

Saigon Securities, Vietnam’s leading stockbroker, valued Long Chau at around US$1.5 billion at the end of 2024, adding that FPT Retail was holding a 75% stake in Long Chau.

In the Vietnamese market, FPT Retail and the Mobile World Group are the major competitors to each other.

430 new stores to open

Creador says Long Chau has grown rapidly from just four stores in 2017 to over 2,000 pharmacies and 140 vaccination centres, with a presence in all 63 provinces of Vietnam. The provinces include six centrally-run cities: Hanoi, Hai Phong, Hue, Danang, Ho Chi Minh, and Can Tho.

Long Chau’s drugstores, as well as its vaccination facilities, are gaining more popularity in Vietnam as the general public is keener to protect themselves against harmful diseases.

Creador founder and CEO Brahmal Vasudevan praises Long Chau’s scale and influence, calling it a leader in making healthcare more accessible and affordable.

For 2025, Long Chau aims to open 430 new stores, including pharmacies and vaccination centres. It dominates the market for prescription drugs, along with new-generation, rare, and specialty medications.

Creador pharmacy investments

In late 2024, Creador closed its sixth fund at US$930 million, surpassing its US$750 million target. Cooperation with Long Chau marks Creador’s 59th investment since its inception in 2011, and its second in Southeast Asia’s pharmacy retail sector. Both drugstore investments are in Vietnam.

FPT Retail chairwoman Nguyen Bach Diep, also CEO of Long Chau, says Creador, as the new strategic shareholder, is working with her pharmacy chain in mapping out a series of new business plans.

“Creador will help us better understand new strategic business ideas in the coming time”, she says.

Formed in 2011, Creador focuses on long-term investments in high-growth companies across South and Southeast Asia, with assets under its management exceeding US$3 billion.