Bangladesh drug company will list in UK

Beximco Pharmaceuticals Limited (BPL), a Bangladesh-based and listed pharmaceuticals manufacturer, on Monday announced that it is to list on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM) having successfully completed an institutional placing of global depositary receipts (GDRs).

The placing has raised around $21 million for the company, giving it a post-money market capitalisation of over $100 million at the placing price. Libertas Capital is acting as nominated adviser and broker to BPL, which will be one of the first companies to have GDRs trading on AIM.

The company manufactures and sells generic pharmaceutical formulation products, active pharmaceutical ingredients and intravenous fluids.

BPL also manufactures under contract for GlaxoSmithKline and has recently entered into a contract to manufacture for Novartis.

The company's products are sold to retail outlets, medical institutions and other pharmaceutical manufacturers in Bangladesh, in regional markets such as Pakistan, Nepal and Myanmar and in other markets overseas, principally in East Africa and South East Asia.

In its home market, where the population is in excess of 140 million, BPL is one of the leading generic pharmaceuticals company with around 8 per cent share of the Bangladeshi finished formulations market and over 40 per cent share of the infusions market.

BPL is based in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where it operates from a site spanning 20 acres and has over 1,800 employees.

The business generated revenues of approximately £23.5 million in 2004 and generated profits after tax of £2.8 million. It has about 50,000 shareholders in its home market and following the placing will have a free-float of around 80 per cent. Over the last four years, the company has invested over £25 million principally to establish a new plant at its site in Dhaka which is expected to become operational during 2006.

Constructed to EU and US FDA standards, this plant will significantly increase manufacturing capacity, which to date has been the major constraint to growth, and is expected to facilitate the registration of the company's products in a number of new markets including those in Europe and the US.

Bangladesh today enjoys Least Developed Country (LDC) status which allows the company to operate in a favourable international intellectual property and regulatory environment.

Nazmul Hassan, Chief Executive of BPL, said: "The combination of BPL's existing, profitable domestic and export market position with the potential to expand into other LDCs, as well as into the developed European and US markets, provide us with a significant opportunity for growth.

"Our objective is to build BPL into a world class manufacturer of pharmaceutical products and the funds raised in the placing will enable us to exploit what we see as a unique opportunity to deliver substantial sales and profit growth for shareholders."