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Pharmaceutical holding company delayed until October, awaiting Jokowi’s approval
The holding company will comprise Bio Farma, which will be assigned as the parent company, and Kimia Farma and Indofarma, which will become Bio Farma subsidiaries
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Workers conduct a final check on vaccines produced by PT Bio Farma at its factory in Bandung, West Java. The government plans to officially establish a pharmaceutical holding company before year-end. (Antara/Raisan Al Farisi)
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fter the establishment of a pharmaceutical holding company was delayed in June, the State-owned Enterprises (SOE) Ministry has announced that it hopes the plan can be realized before the end of this year.
Undersecretary for industrial, agricultural and pharmaceutical affairs Wahyu Kuncoro said in Jakarta on Wednesday that he hoped the pharmaceutical holding could be officially established by October.
Honesti Basyir, the newly appointed president director of state-owned vaccine producer PT Bio Farma, said preparations for the holding had reached 95 percent. However, the SOE Ministry could not officially establish the holding company just yet as it was waiting for President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to sign a government regulation on the establishment of the holding company.
"We can establish the holding immediately after the President signs it,” he said after Kimia Farma’s extraordinary general shareholders meeting in Jakarta, adding that Bio Farma had been appointed to lead the holding company.
The holding company will comprise Bio Farma, which will be assigned as the parent company, Kimia Farma and Indofarma, both of which will be Bio Farma subsidiaries. After the company is formally established, the group will become the leader in the country’s pharmaceutical market.
Currently, the government holds a 90.02 percent stake in Kimia Farma and 80.66 percent of Indofarma.
However, the government’s stake in Kimia Farma may decrease in the near future as the company plans to issue 1.58 billion new shares next year to increase public ownership. Wahyu said the government might not exercise its right in the rights issue.
