4 days ago
PTT to sell stake in Taiwan pharmaceuticals firm
National oil and gas conglomerate PTT Plc has decided to adjust its investment in the life science business by selling a small portion of the shares it holds in Taiwan-based Lotus Pharmaceutical to boost financial flexibility.
The proportion of the company shares listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange to be sold will not exceed 2%. PTT owns a 37% stake in Lotus Pharmaceutical, said Pattaralada Sa-ngasang, chief financial officer of PTT.
The completion date of the share sale has been set for July 2026.
PTT holds shares in Lotus Pharmaceutical through its wholly-owned subsidiary Innobic (Asia), which operates life science-related businesses.
"After this transaction in Lotus Pharmaceutical, Innobic will continue to be a major shareholder with a stake of no less than 36%," said Ms Pattaralada.
"Innobic is still fully confident in Lotus Pharmaceutical's future growth."
More financial flexibility after the share sale would allow PTT to drive future expansion in the life science sector, she said.
The latest investment adjustment in Lotus Pharmaceutical is part of the company's revision of its life science business direction in alignment with evolving market conditions and the competitive landscape with the objective of enabling the pharmaceutical business to pursue self-funding growth, while also creating long-term benefits to PTT and Thailand.
"We see a positive sentiment from special profit from the adjustment of the Lotus investment value before tax of roughly 6.2-7.6 billion baht which will be recorded in the third quarter," said Sornchai Pitthayaprug, a fundamental investment analyst on securities.
"PTT will not lose control over the Lotus business and the support of profit of approximately 1.8 billion baht a year."
Lotus Pharmaceutical, a listed manufacturer in Taiwan, is a distributor of medical drugs in South Korea and the US.
Both Innobic and Lotus Pharmaceutical share a goal of developing the generic drug business in Southeast Asia to strengthen public health in the region.
Lotus Pharmaceutical wants to focus on the treatment of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
Many countries in Asia have become ageing societies, leading to more demand for NCD medicines, Buranin Rattanasombat, chairman of Innobic (Asia), said earlier.
