Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Swicorp Joussour Company, a Saudi Joint Stock Company capitalized at SAR 2.67 billion ($712 million) managed by Swicorp, announced on Sunday that it has acquired a strategic stake in RAK Ghani Glass LLC ("RAK Ghani") in a joint venture with RAK Investment Authority, JS Group and Ghani Glass Ltd. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
RAK Ghani is in the process of setting up a state-of-the-art pharmaceutical glass plant that will be the first of its kind in the GCC region. The plant's initial annual capacity will be 45,000 tons (equivalent to 600 million light-weight pharma grade bottles). The company plans to supply the product in the Middle East, Europe and Asia.
RAK Ghani is situated on 100,000 square meters of land in Ras Al Khaimah's industrial zone, located in north of the UAE, and is expected to be commissioned by October 2008 with commercial production expected to commence by December 2008. RAK Ghani also plans to expand the plant's capacity in the future and is also considering developing other glass-related products.
Shahid Khan, Investment Director, Swicorp Private Equity said: "The global pharmaceutical packaging industry is worth around $30 billion and the demand is expected to continue rising, especially in developing markets. We believe RAK Ghani is ideally positioned to capture this demand growth for light-weight, high-quality pharmaceutical bottles across the GCC, Asia and European markets."
By Staff Reporter
© Gulf News 2008
