New Delhi: Indian drug major Ranbaxy has announced that it has been allocated the site for setting up its Greenfield manufacturing facility in Malaysia. The company has signed a 'letter of offer' agreement with Kulim Hi Tech Park (KHTP).

The agreement was signed by Mr T Jeyabalan Thangarajah, MD, Ranbvaxy Malaysia, and Mr Tuan Haji Muhammad Sobri, president, KHTP, along with representatives of the Ministry of Investment Development Authority (MIDA) and Mr Arun Sawhney, CEO and MD, Ranbaxy.

The Ranbaxy greenfield facility will be built on an area of around 15 acres with an investment of around $35 million providing employment to over 200 people. This will be Ranbaxy's second manufacturing plant in Malaysia.

Mr T Jeyabalan said at the signing that, "Ranbaxy established its foothold in Malaysia three decades back and since then has been offering high quality, affordable generic medicines to the Malaysian healthcare system. The new Greenfield facility reinforces our long term commitment."

In addition to serving the local market, the new facility will also export products to the ASEAN markets, Middle East, Europe, Sri Lanka, China and other select nations, he added.

The new facility would manufacture dosage forms including tablets and capsules primarily in the cardiovascular, anti diabetic, anti-infective and gastrointestinal segments. Ranbaxy's total output in Malaysia will be increased from one billion doses per annum to three billion doses per annum when the new facility will become fully operational.

In the 2012 Malaysian budget, the Government of Malaysia liberalized investments into the healthcare sector and has also encouraged foreign companies.