Aventis invests $5m in RI unit

Aventis invests $5m in RI unit

Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

PT Aventis Pharma, the largest foreign pharmaceutical company
operating in Indonesia, said it was investing US$5 million to
upgrade its production facility in a bid to strengthen its
operations here.

President of Aventis Pharma Homayoun Madjrouh said on
Wednesday that the new investment would help the company boost
its production capacity by more than 30 percent to meet rising
demand both in the domestic and export market.

"We do believe that demand in pharmaceutical products will
continue to increase both in the domestic and export market,"
Homayoun told reporters.

The project is scheduled for completion in August 2003.

The company, which is located in the Pulo Mas area of North
Jakarta, focuses on cardiology, oncology, infectious diseases,
arthritis, allergies and respiratory disorders, diabetes and
disorders related to the central nervous system.

The company said that around 90 percent of its drugs were for
the domestic market, while the remaining 10 percent were destined
for the overseas market.

Their main export markets were in Pakistan, Cambodia, Vietnam,
Malaysia and Singapore with total sales of $5 million last year.

Aventis said that its total sales reached Rp 400 billion ($45
million) in 2001, an increase of 14 percent from the previous
year.

The company expected sales this year to be even higher.

Aventis Pharma is a company resulting from the merger of PT
Hoechst Marion Roussel Indonesia and PT Rhone-Poulenc Rorer last
year.

With the merger, Hoechst Marion Roussel Indonesia and Rhone-
Poulenc Rorer were dissolved and all their production activities
were taken over by Aventis.

Homayoun also expressed his confidence over the investment
climate in Indonesia.

"To the people of Indonesia, our $5 million investment shows
our confidence in the country as this is a long-term investment
in the future. We believe in our role in the future of Indonesia
and are making proactive investment that reflect our long-term
vision," Homayoun said.