Chinese authorities have extended a warm welcome to French pharmaceutical and healthcare giant Sanofi, which has announced plans to invest around €1 billion (US$1.05 billion) in a new insulin plant in Beijing. This project marks Sanofi’s largest single investment in China and highlights its confidence in the world’s second-largest economy, South China Morning Post reported.
During a meeting on Tuesday, Vice-Premier He Lifeng assured Sanofi Chairman Frédéric Oudéa of China’s commitment to improving its business environment and encouraging European firms to invest in the country, the report says. The meeting followed discussions on Monday between Beijing Communist Party Secretary Yin Li and Oudéa.
Sanofi said the new plant will be its fourth such facility on the mainland. It also represents one of the largest foreign-funded projects in China in recent years, following Tesla’s Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai that cost an estimated US$2 billion.
The company’s investment comes amid Beijing’s support for “open collaboration” in the healthcare industry, which is part of an effort to attract more foreign businesses in the country amid economic headwinds.
The State Council, China’s cabinet, in August issued a list of guidelines that included backing investments in the biotech industry and making clinical trials and product registrations for listed biopharmaceuticals outside the country more efficient. The National Medical Products Administration in September also urged multinational companies to move the production of drugs and medical equipment to China.