Gujarat government is expected to enter into memorandum of understanding (MoU) with about 124 companies from the pharma and the healthcare sector from across the world, bringing in an investment of approximately Rs.5500 crore into the state during the Vibrant Gujarat (VG) 2013.
This comes as huge encouragement to the state government which had focused on exploring opportunities that will lead to knowledge sharing and networking initiatives, rather than attracting prospective investment opportunities through VB 2013, that is going to be flagged off on January 11 in Gandhi Nagar, Gujarat.
VG summit, a two-day biennial event organised by the Gujarat Government with an aim to bring together business leaders, investors, educational and research institutes, corporations, thought leaders and policy makers, has witnessed a staggering number of new investors coming into the state this year. It is reported that some of the top pharma and medical devices companies from different parts of the country as well as from globally, are seriously scouting for investment opportunities in the state for either setting up new manufacturing units or for expansion of their already established facilities.
Dr H G Koshia, commissioner, Gujarat FDCA informed that they are very excited about this development as it shows the kind of reputation and status Gujarat enjoys as a facilitator of trade and business development. Stating some of the highlights of this year's investment he informed that some of the top pharma companies have targeted to make Gujarat as one of its base.
Giving information on the available data, he informed that Israel based Teva along with Procter & Gamble (P&G) will be investing around Rs.500 crore for setting up its Teva & P&G manufacturing unit in the state. Similarly two US based companies have also shown interest, one of which is Apicore Pharmaceuticals which is reported to be investing Rs.120 crore for expansion of its already existent plant.
Among the domestic companies, Maharashtra based Ajanta Pharmaceuticals is expected to sign two MoUs with the government, first worth Rs.225 crores while the second MoU is estimated to be around Rs.175 crore both for the expansion of its plants in the state brining the companies total investment to Rs.400 crore. Glenmark is expected to invest Rs.145 crore while Seva Health, Meril Health, Emcure Healthcare are expected to invest Rs.150 crore each. One of the highlights of this year is the foray of the Indian multinational ACG into the state with the investment of Rs.350 crore.
“This kind of investment is going to generate about 30, 000 plus job opportunities in the state and comes as huge boost to the on going efforts of the government. Interestingly, this huge response comes in spite of minimal initiative taken by the state government to attract investment into the state as they have been focusing more on leveraging growth opportunities through knowledge and network sharing initiatives with the stakeholders,” Dr Koshia stressed.