CCEA approves FII investments in Aurobindo Pharma & Glenmark

Giving a boost to investment in pharma sector, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on April 7, 2015 approved foreign investments in Aurobindo Pharma and Glenmark Pharmaceutical. In case of Aurobindo Pharma Ltd, CCEA has given its nod for Qualified Institutional Buyers to infuse fresh equity of upto 7 percent amounting to about Rs 2165 crore into the company. The existing FII shareholding is 27.32 percent in the company. This will enable the company to expand its operations in the areas of anti-infective, cardiovascular and central nervous system related ingredients.
 
In Glenmark Pharmaceutical Ltd, the company has increased the foreign investment limit by FIIs from 35.07 percent to 49 percent. This will result in an inflow of about Rs 2022 crore. Apart from manufacturing pharmaceuticals, the company is also engaged in research and development activities in drugs.
 
Both companies are promoted by Indian entrepreneurs who have developed a global footprint over the years. The companies are required to continue to produce medicines under the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) at the same levels as they had been doing in the past. These companies are also required to maintain R&D expenditure at the maximum levels incurred in the past three years and to provide complete information regarding transfer of technology that has been done.
 
“By investing in R&D, these companies have become players in the global pharmaceutical market and exemplify ‘Make in India’ which is being promoted by the Government of India,” said a CCEA press release.