JAPANESE drugmaker Tsumura & Co. said Friday Ping An Insurance Group Co. of China Ltd. will become its biggest shareholder by acquiring a 10 percent stake for 27.3 billion yen (US$243.7 million).

Tsumura is well known in Japan as a prescription drugmaker specialized in “kampo” herbal medicine, which traces its roots back to China.

In a statement, Tsumura, which has annual revenue of about US$980 million, said it will place newly issued shares and treasury stock to Ping An for 3,559.5 yen a share, a 9.4 percent discount to Friday’s closing price.

The deal is set to close Oct. 13, the company said.

Tsumura said the two companies are planning to set up joint ventures in procurement of herbal medicine materials, production and sales of traditional Chinese medicine in China.

The Japanese company said it relies on imports from China for about 80 percent of herbal medicine materials, and that securing stable procurement is becoming critical as growing demand for kampo and Chinese medicine have driven up prices of herbal materials. (SD-Agencies)

Alibaba said yesterday the US$15 billion investment will be used to develop its data technology and improve its warehousing and delivery development.

http://www.szdaily.com/content/2017-09/25/content_17386748.htm