Silco pharma to export medicine to Afghanistan for 5 years

Silco Pharmaceuticals Ltd is going to export medicine for the first time in its history. 

The company will export medicine to Afghanistan for five years, according to one of its senior officials.

Seeking anonymity, he said the company had recently signed an agreement with Afghan trading company Zaid Elyas Adil Ltd to export medicine for the next five years.

He also said as per the agreement, the company would export 13 different types of medicine, commencing from this month. 

The total export value will be Tk3.22 crore and estimated profit will be 30 percent against the export.

In 2018, Afghan Ambassador to Bangladesh Abdul Qayoom Malikzad expressed his country's interest in importing quality products from Bangladesh, including pharmaceuticals, garments and other consumer goods.

After that, some Bangladeshi companies, including Square Pharmaceuticals, Beximco Pharmaceuticals and Ibn Sina Pharmaceutical Industry, exported their medicine to Afghanistan.

Silco Pharmaceuticals is also aiming to export drugs to the United States and the European Union markets. 

The company, listed on both the bourses, is building a new unit specifically for this purpose.

Company Secretary Tingku Ranjan Sarker told The Business Standard they will set up the new unit in line with the regulations of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP).

The GMP is a system for ensuring quality control standards for products. It has been jointly designed by the World Health Organisation, the Food and Drug Administration of the US, and the European Union.                    

No drug is allowed into the US and European Union markets without a GMP licence. 

Silco Pharmaceuticals raised Tk30 crore through initial public offering (IPO) last year. The fund is being invested in its new project in Sylhet, which will come into operation next year.

The company recommended 2 percent cash and 10 percent stock dividends for its stakeholders during the 2018-19 financial year.

It entered the stock market last year, and posted a net profit of Tk7.89 crore in the first three quarters of the 2019-20 financial year, while earnings per share was Tk0.76.

During this period, its net revenue was Tk60 crore, which was Tk70 crore in the previous year in the same period.  

The closing price of the company's shares was Tk27.10 on Sunday at the Dhaka Stock Exchange. The maximum price shot up to Tk40.90.

Bangladesh's net volume of pharmaceutical exports was Tk339.24 crore in 2010-11. This rose to Tk1,150.87 crore in the 2019-20 financial year. 

Pharmaceuticals exports registered a 239 percent growth in the last decade.