Beximco Pharma Discussion Threads

[davydoo] 04/4/2014 15:55

Nah just me buying again. I have no idea why every trade I make moves it like that

[237gmoney] 04/4/2014 15:46

Nice to finally see the come back to life again. Could this be the time we break out of the current range.

Attached the link for the top 20 Pharma's in Bangladesh (as at 26/06/2012)

[davydoo] 04/4/2014 15:25

I wouldn't worry about a saturated market, more that there might be pressure on wages for qualified/experienced staff. But I think that's a small price to pay for the growth of the industry and hopefully international reputation

[237gmoney] 04/4/2014 09:50

Its possible but with Beximco group being one of the bigger players in the country they are unlikely to let one of their cash cows go.

Beximco Pharma are the third largest pharma in bangladesh and the growth area is not their home nation but in Europe and Oceania.

The average wage in Bangladesh is still very low so any real penetration of the European market will hit the bottom line.

[microscope] 04/4/2014 09:16

Maybe this is part of the (perceived?) problem, too much competition and saturated domestic market?
On the other hand the opportunity is that it usually leads to sector consolidation.
Only thinking out loud!

[237gmoney] 04/4/2014 08:33

More good news in the Bangladesh pharma sector today.



"Government to Help Pharma Sector in High tech Manufacturing"

[237gmoney] 03/4/2014 14:16

Some chunky trades gone through today all around 10.30am of around 60k each.

Odd behaviour you might think?

[237gmoney] 03/4/2014 08:38

More good news for the Bangladesh Paharma market



Pharma giant Azbil Telstar opens new center in Bangladesh
Moniruzzaman Uzzal

The globally reputed company will run its activities in Bangladesh as a joint venture company of Japan-Spain-Bangladesh

Azbil Telstar, which operates in over 100 countries and has 7 production plants, 7 technology centers and 13 consulting and engineering services centers all over the world, opens its new center in Bangladesh.

The globally reputed company will run its activities in Bangladesh as a joint venture company of Japan-Spain-Bangladesh under the banner of "Azbil Telstar Bangladesh Limited (ATBD).

Health minister Mohammed Nasim formally inaugurated the new center of Azbil Telstar yesterday in a city hotel. Speaking as chief guest, Mohammed Nasim has assured of extending all-out support from the government for ensuring further growth and development of the pharmaceutical industries in Bangladesh.

"Beside RMG sector, the pharmaceutical industry is also growing fast as it has been contributing a lot in the national economy."

Nasim has urged the pharmaceutical company owners to remain alert against the production of fake and substandard drugs as a section of dishonest people has been trying to tarnish the goodwill of the pharmaceuticals sector by manufacturing such fake drugs.



The opening of Telstar's new center, which is specifically focused on reinforcing a professional and specialized service in the Asia-Specific region's pharmaceuticals market, is in response to a requirement to promote growth in a region where the company has been active over the past 10 years.

In Bangladesh Azbil Telstar had previous experience of working with Square, Beximco, JMI, and Beckon, SK&F and other few pharmaceuticals company. They had earlier established different high tech solutions in design, engineering, construction and manufacturing process with automation technologies of these companies.

Through the opening of the new center, the Telstar brand is now represented in this region by three specialised production plants and engineering centers in China, Bangladesh and India, to provide specialised engineering and construction projects , equipment design and manufacture and consultancy services for the life sciences sector.

The inaugural ceremony was attended, among others, by Abdul Muktadir, secretary general of Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceuticals Industry (BAPI), Tapan Chowdhury, Managing Director of Square Pharmaceuticals, Major General Md. Jahangir hossain Mollick, Director General (DG) of Directorate General of Drug administration (DGDA), Luis Tajeda, ambassador of Spain, Shiro Sadoshima, ambassador of Japan, S.A.Khan, Managing Director of Saka International limited, Ton Capella, chairman of Azbil Telstars, Rafael Beaus, Managing director of Azbil Telstar Bangladesh and Hedeya Saito, general manager of life science engineering department of Azbil Corporation were the speakers.

[davydoo] 01/4/2014 17:15

further to the above depends what data source you use. (thank you to those who've posted links to Dhaka stock exchange)

Data is weak and poorly exchanged gbp/bdt on Barclays stockbrokers that I use.

But much better on LSE

[davydoo] 01/4/2014 16:53

The massive share issuance as dividend is fascinating.

I glance at a lot of shares before conducting any meaningful research.

Think about this one if you are just trying to make some quick conclusions;

no dividend
falling share price
increasing revenue but eps hasn't moved for 5 years
emerging market (and not the 'exciting' ones)

Easy to see why its ignored.

[envirovision] 01/4/2014 16:30

I admit to having taken a few at these very depressed levels

[237gmoney] 01/4/2014 16:15

Tell your friends Davy as that seems to be the problem here.

No one knows about it. I try my best to keep up interest but I'm off travelling for a while soon so will not be connected.

I might need someone to take over the wheel! ;)

[davydoo] 01/4/2014 15:59

The more I look the more I like.

I've estimated the UK share price implies a p/e below 4 (3.993 to be precise)

[237gmoney] 01/4/2014 13:47

Also This out today

Bangladesh seeks 'higher levels' of EU co-operation



"...The first eight months of the fiscal year saw a "morale- boosting" 16.68% rise to US$16.13bn compared to last year's US$13.83bn. This shows "we are on the right path," said Ali, adding the country is "ready to leapfrog" industry rivals in the garments race.

He also wants to take relations with the EU to a "higher level" and has urged Brussels to support upcoming sectors in Bangladesh such as ship building and "state of the art" pharmaceutical industry."

[237gmoney] 01/4/2014 13:45

All the press reports point towards a growing market for Beximco



The government can help export volumes by rectifying delays in getting clearances

Earnings from pharmaceutical exports grew by nearly a quarter to $48.18 million in the first eight months of the current fiscal year.

The success of pharmaceutical companies in the global market, should come as no surprise, as locally owned companies have long supplied the bulk of the 97% of medicines sold in the country, which are made in Bangladesh.

While national demand is expected to grow healthily to over $3bn within the next decade, exports are an increasingly important factor for the industry. This can be seen by the sector's ability to reach beyond markets in Asia, to a position where its competitive prices and high quality are helping it to sell medicines to 79 different countries including Brazil, Kenya and the UK.

A growing number of companies are backing the sector to create new jobs and generate vital foreign revenues, by investing in new plants and technology.

It is important that policymakers recognise and take action to help the industry overcome obstacles it faces as the sector clearly has potential for exports to take off much faster than at present.

The government can help by rectifying the delays which some businesses still face in getting clearances for exporting pharmaceutical products.

It should also strengthen the drug administration so that there is full and speedy access to testing laboratories to certify the products, and help increase export volumes.

[237gmoney] 31/3/2014 14:42

Bangladesh plans free trade agreements from Nigeria and Mali - two more markets for Beximco to grow in I expect.



The government plans to sign two separate free trade agreements with Nigeria and Mali to explore non-traditional markets in the African countries for enhancing bi-lateral trades and tapping the investment potentials. Besides, Bangladesh Tariff Commission (BTC) also recommended to the Commerce Ministry recently an issue related to the use of vast lands in the two African countries.

"The BTC has identified the two African countries for signing two trade deals after conducting a comprehensive feasibility study to find out whether signing of any Free Trade Area Agreement (FTA) or Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with the African countries will be worthy or not," said a senior official of the commerce ministry.

The BTC study also revealed that Bangladesh would not be benefitted in the short term if it goes for signing free trade agreements with three other African countries – Morocco, Senegal and Sierra Leone. Both FTA and PTA on goods and investment in Nigeria and Mali can bring very good results in the long run, observed the BTC survey.

However, an inter-ministerial meeting will be held soon to finalize the recommendations outlined by the BTC. Meanwhile, the Commerce Ministry held a meeting at the secretariate on March 13, Thursday, to discuss about the possible initiatives to sign the FTA or PTA with two African nations.

Nigeria had already lifted the bar on import of various apparel items including shirts, trousers, skirts, blouses, and lace fabrics since last year. Besides, there are still a lot of scopes to export more products like pharmaceuticals, jute, ceramic products, sanitary wares, leather, processed foods, tobacco and shoes in the market.

Nigeria, a country of 174.5 million people with a per capita income of USD1,831 can be a promising export market for Bangladesh if the potential is properly identified by the private sectors. Export to Nigeria stands at USD10.91 billion against the import of around USD4.71 billion, said BTC in its report. There is scope to export Bangladeshi products like pharmaceuticals, processed foods, plastic, leather, jute goods, rubber, electronic gadgets, and light engineering products to Nigeria.

According to BTC, there are also ample scope for Bangladeshi products like pharmaceuticals, processed foods and garment items to enter into the untapped market in Mali. The nation has a 14.52 million people with a per capita income of USD1,091, and it can be a promising export market for Bangladeshi products. The volume of Bangladeshi export stands at USD1.99 billion against the import of USD4.76 billion.

"We need more time to finalize any deal with any foreign country. We have just received a feasibility study done by BTC on possible FTA and PTA with Nigeria and Mali, and now we are going to send the proposal to our diplomatic missions in Nigeria and Mali to get their feedback about the prospect and possibilities," commerce secretary Mahbub Ahmed told First News.

[envirovision] 27/3/2014 12:08

Well these look like they are offering some value down here so I have come aboard to join you.

[237gmoney] 27/3/2014 08:48

More news this time from Beximco on the latest export numbers from the bangladesh pharma market



Pharma exports rise on growing demand

Gazi Towhid Ahmed

Pharma exports rose around 24 percent year-on-year to $59.82 million in fiscal 2012-13 thanks to a growing demand for Bangladeshi medicines in Southeast Asia, Asia Pacific and Africa.

"The actual potential is even higher. The country needs to improve its infrastructure and capabilities and the manufacturers should have adequate support from the government to realise that potential," said Rabbur Reza, chief operating officer of Beximco Pharma.

Reza said they are now focusing on developed markets such as Europe, Australia, Latin America and Gulf countries. "We have already started exporting to Germany and Austria and are getting a very good response from these stringently regulated markets."

The government has declared the pharma industry a thrust sector due to its huge export potential, he said

Bangladesh is almost self-sufficient in pharmaceuticals as local companies can meet nearly 97 percent of the domestic demand, he said.

Bangladeshi companies have also earned trust globally, said Dewan Abul Bashar, manager for international sales operation at Square Pharmaceuticals.

Local companies are working to establish their brands in different international markets such as South Asia, Africa, Latin America and the EU, Bashar said.

Bangladeshi companies have successfully created demand, which has boosted exports, he said, adding that Square is focusing on marketing on the global front to develop medicine prescribers' confidence.

However, the country will have to go a long way to establish itself as a generic drug hub, as it needs to strengthen capabilities in several key areas, said Reza of Beximco.

"We need to upgrade our research and development skills in producing technology driven, specialised niche products such as sterile ophthalmic products, inhalers, lyophilised injectables, transdermal patches and biologics."

Bangladesh also needs to strengthen its capabilities in regulatory and legal affairs for the sake of the industry, Reza said.

"The government should build a park for active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) with a focus on developing synthetic chemistry skills."

API is the substance in a pharmaceutical drug or a pesticide that is Biologically active. Synthetic chemistry is the subject which teaches how to do
chemical synthesis to develop medicine.

API know-how is crucial to be competitive in the global marketplace and Bangladeshi companies are still dependent on import from India and China, the two major generic drug producers, Reza said.

"In most cases, APIs have to be imported from abroad, which is one of the main disadvantages in terms of cost when compared to India," said BRAC EPL, a stockbroker.

Bio-equivalence (BE) testing is mandatory for product registration in developed markets and Bangladeshi companies have to spend a huge sum for outsourcing this as the country has no BE testing facility, Reza said.

"Bangladesh's only central API park was supposed to be completed by 2012 and as of now its fate is uncertain which leaves the entire industry at stake as we are still heavily dependent on API import," he said.

The government should come forward with incentives to develop the sector, he said.

The incentives include developing a special economic zone for pharma, setting up a temperature controlled warehouse at airport, offering cash and tax benefits, encouraging research and development, creating a modern drug testing laboratory, developing API infrastructure, and easing remittance regulation, he said.

With a renewed focus on reverse engineering skills, regulatory and legal affairs, and developing skills across the pharma value chain, Bangladesh has the potential to become a global generic drug hub in future, he said.

The country's pharma market is currently valued at $1.3 billion a year and has created around one lakh jobs. The global pharma market is estimated to be around $1 trillion and the size of the generic drug market stands at $200 billion.

[237gmoney] 27/3/2014 08:09

Surely this stock will start moving very shortly. Pharma Exports are storming ahead this year in Bangladesh according to the latest news out today



Medicine export earnings increase by 24% in eight months

The sector has achieved 67.12% of its $71.78m export target set for the current financial year The country's export earnings from pharmaceutical sector have increased by 23.57% to $48.18 million in the first eight months of the current fiscal year compared to the same period in the last financial year.

During the period between July 2013 and February 2014, Bangladesh fetched $48.18m by exporting medicines compared to $39m during the same period in the last financial year, Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data shows. However, the sector has achieved 67.12% of its $71.78m export target set for the current financial year. In 2012-13, Bangladesh exported medicines worth $59.82m which was 24% higher compared to $48.25m in 2011-12.

According to the EPB, Bangladesh currently exports pharmaceutical products to 98 countries, of which Myanmar imports the highest quantity of medicines worth $7.21m followed by Sri Lanka with $4.85m, the Philippines with $3.88m, Vietnam $3.35m, Kenya $2.81m, Afghanistan $2.53m, the UK $2.13m, Slovenia $2m and Brazil $1.08m. The pharmaceutical industry also set a target of exploring 30 new destinations for their products during the current financial year. "Export earnings from pharmaceutical products have continued increasing as global buyers have chosen Bangladeshi products for price competitiveness and its superior quality," Abdul Muktadir, managing director of Incepta Pharmaceuticals, told the Dhaka Tribune.

The country's pharmaceutical sector was in the initial stages of capturing the global market, which, he said, would take time; but the sector was now showing geometrical growth. If the government could ensure World Health Organisation's certification for testing laboratories and the drug administration, the export volume would increase several times.

"It needed branding and certifying the quality of products," he said. "The government should strengthen the drug administration, appointing fully-fledged professional persons as their performance and integrity will help boost exports as well as the country's production," said a high official of a pharmaceutical company, preferring not to be named. He claimed that people involved in this sector are facing problems in getting clearance for exporting pharmaceutical products.

[237gmoney] 25/3/2014 14:05

Micro, not sure there is much left to dump? as the latest shareholder information has dramtically changed since late last year and this is already out of date with over 5m shares changing hands this year.



Agree though that the rapid bounce can't be too far off.

[microscope] 25/3/2014 13:48

Purely a hunch but something that happens quite often, think there might be one big last dump here, with a 'crescendo' bottom and rapid bounce. When that will be of course, is anyone's guess, hopefully soon!

[237gmoney] 25/3/2014 13:00

200k buy yesterday at 13.7p hardly made the MMs blink.

Share price still holding firm in Dhaka at around 50BDT so currently around x3 lower in the UK than the Bangladesh equal.

Around 5-6 weeks until YR End results now so not long.

[237gmoney] 20/3/2014 15:15

Why the drop all of a sudden? There has been no significant buy trades this month which is odd to me but then I see this in a different light to others I guess.

[blobby] 20/3/2014 14:56

237, good luck with the trading. I bought a long time ago (for a higher price) as an investment. You are right about the returns so far.

Something else to be aware of is the increasing profits and turnover year on year is not as good as it sounds when you take into account local inflation.

However, having said all that I do believe this is a bargain at this price and may consider buying some more.

[237gmoney] 20/3/2014 14:34

Blobby, I'm not sure the Beximco GDRs is a long term investment case based on the recent price performance. But you can certainly make good returns trading it.

However, that is not to say the company doesn't have very good long term prospects as they now export to Europe so I can only see this grow and grow.