Duyiwei Bio to establish TCM cultivation subsidiary
Shanghai. April 15. INTERFAX-CHINA - Gansu Duyiwei Biological Pharmaceutical Ltd. (Duyiwei Bio) will establish a subsidiary to operate its traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) material plantation in Gansu Province's Maqu County, a company representative told Interfax April 15.
Duyiwei Bio plans to invest RMB 20 million ($3.06 million) in the venture, provisionally named Maqu Duyiwei Medicinal Materials Ltd., said Zeng Qingmei, a securities affairs representative.
At its Maqu plantation, Duyiwei Bio grows the key raw ingredient for its main line of hemostatic TCMs, an herb called lamiophlomis rotate (benth.) kudos, known in Chinese as duyiwei. It is used as an ingredient in traditional Tibetan medicines as well as TCMs.
The herb is suited to cool and damp climates, and is found exclusively in Gansu, Qinghai and Sichuan provinces, and the Tibetan Autonomous Region.
"Our duyiwei plantation is several hundred kilometers from our factory [in Gansu's Kang County] and local transportation infrastructure is poor, so establishing a new company will improve management efficiency," Zeng said.
"The plantation is about 30,000 mu (20 square kilometers) in size, and incorporates over 100 local smallholdings. It produces 1,000 tons of duyiwei annually," Zeng said.
Duyiwei Bio's series of duyiwei products generated revenue of RMB 196.62 million ($30.11 million) in 2010, accounting for about two thirds of the firm's total sales for the year. The firm is listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
- KZ