KARACHI, PAKISTAN: Citi Pharma Limited will establish a wholly owned subsidiary in Uzbekistan with a total estimated cost of $3.0 million, a news release said.

Pakistan is catalyzing the stability in Afghanistan to grow trade and investment relations and promote business to business contacts with the business and trading communities of Central Asia.

The proposed subsidiary of Citi Pharma will produce syrups, liquids, psychotropic products and generals products, a news release said.

“Citi’s subsidiary will be producing the substitute of the formulation products which Uzbekistan is currently importing from different countries,” the company said.

“Citi Pharma will be providing API materials to its subsidiary and other pharmaceutical companies in Uzbekistan from Pakistan and also will get foothold in Uzbekistan to develop market.”

The project will be completed in one year, whereby Citi Pharma will contribute $1.0 million as equity while the rest will be provided by local and international banks at subsidized rates.

Uzbekistan has also sanctioned a land area of 120.35 acres (free of cost) for the purpose. Furthermore, the project will have a tax-free status for a period of 10 years.

Uzbekistan is the geographic, economic and cultural heart of Central Asia. With approximately 33 million people, Uzbekistan is by far the most populous of the five Central Asian republics of the former Soviet Union.

Lying on the ancient Silk Road between Europe and the Far East, the cities of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva have been centers of commerce and trade for centuries and have undergone revivals since the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Uzbekistan is larger than the combined area of the United Kingdom, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland and Austria. It is the only country to border each of the other four Central Asian republics, as well as Afghanistan.

Citi Pharma Limited – the manufacturer of Paracetamol – attracted investment of Rs2.33 billion by selling 72.69 million shares to the institutional and retail investors at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) this June.

Citi Pharma is expanding its existing pharmaceutical capacities drastically and is also introducing new products.

Company posted a net profit of Rs252.436 million for the nine-month period ended March 31, 2021, which is 152 per cent higher than the profit of Rs100 million in the corresponding period.