North China Pharma to invest $145 mln towards expanding production capacity
Shanghai. September 30. INTERFAX-CHINA - North China Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. will inject approximately RMB 990 million ($144.95 million) to construct new manufacturing facilities as part of its relocation plan, it announced on Sept. 30.
According to the announcement, North China Pharma will construct new manufacturing facilities, occupying an area of about 300 mu (200,000 square meters), for cephalosporin and penicillin formulations, anti-tumor medicines as well as active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) including albumin, lycopene, 6-aminopenicillanic acid (6-APA), penicillin V potassium, penicillin G sodium and demeclocycline.
At present, the company is in the process of relocating its headquarters to Shijiazhuang Economic Development Zone in the suburbs of Shijiazhuang, capital city of Hebei Province, from downtown Shijiazhuang.
"Our production capacity will be increased significantly. At the moment, construction of the manufacturing facilities is already underway and we expect some factories to be operational before the end of next year," a securities affairs representative from North China Pharma, who declined to be named, told Interfax on Sept. 30.
The capacity expansion will enable North China Pharma to have a stronger API and cephalosporin portfolio. The company expects to generate about RMB 6.5 billion ($951.68 million) in annual sales revenue once the manufacturing facilities become fully operational, the announcement said.
In May this year, North China Pharma announced it would secure a one-year bank loan of RMB 500 million ($73.21 million) and lease out its production facilities for four years for RMB 150 million ($21.96 million) in total in a bid to finance the relocation.
-KZ