IFC invests $47m in China’s Fosun Pharma
International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private investment arm of the World Bank, has agreed to provide RMB300 million ($47 million) in funding to Fosun Pharma, one of China’s leading drug companies. The investment will help Fosun scale up the production of affordable drugs in China and other developing countries.
Fosun Pharma manufactures both generic and innovative medicines and is one of the largest suppliers of anti-malaria drugs to developing countries through international institutions like the World Health Organization and the International Red Cross. To date, it claims to have provided anti-malaria drugs to more than 300 million people in Africa and Southeast Asia.
IFC first invested in Fosun six years ago, when it put RMB320 million into the company through a local-currency bond. The new round of capital will provide long-term funding to Fosun's subsidiaries in China, supporting the upgrade of manufacturing facilities.
"We are keen to provide financing to key Chinese private sector clients that create thousands of jobs as they grow and cater to the needs of underserved populations," said Sérgio Pimenta, IFC's director for East Asia and the Pacific, in a statement. "By supporting companies like Fosun Pharma, we are helping to ensure that the benefits of economic growth reach the poor."
The transaction comes after Fosun Pharma's investment in Sinopharm Capital in June. Sinopharm Capital, a subsidiary of drug distributing conglomerate Sinopharm, is raising an RMB1 billion fund that will invest in different segments of the healthcare industry. Fosun Pharma committed RMB50 million to the vehicle.
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