Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Tuesday, Sep 21, 2004
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Tuesday, Sep 21, 2004 |
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Money & Banking
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Private Banks Forging ties between MNCs and local companies — Yes Bank taps pharma, biotech opportunities P.T. Jyothi Datta
Mumbai , Sept. 20 IT may be the newest kid on the banking block, but Yes Bank is already match-making between domestic and multinational companies (MNC) in the pharmaceutical and bio-tech industry. And in the process, the entrepreneurial bank Yes could find itself pitted against the big consulting houses, such as a McKinsey or an Ernst & Young, also in the fray to get a piece of the pharma pie. "Global companies appoint a large consultant company largely to get the feel of a local market and to work out an entry strategy. At the ground level, we have found that actual transactions are executed for companies by banks or small consultant houses," points out Mr Alok Gupta, Yes Bank's Country Head for Life Sciences and Biotechnology. "We are working with three multinational companies, two pharmaceutical and one biotech company looking to enter the country. And the nature of their activity in India could range from sourcing formulations (finished dosage forms of medicines) or acquiring bulk-drug plants (that manufacture the active ingredients in medicines) to setting up base on their own in India," he told Business Line. Two of the MNCs are United States-based firms, while the third firm is a European pharmaceutical company. He expected the deal to be sealed in about three months. As Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) gets protected and clinical trial norms get more liberal, more global pharma companies will look to forge alliances in India, he said. More biotech ventures too will get off the block, as a new policy is put in place and biotech parks get operationalised, he observed. A greenfield banking venture, Yes Bank is promoted by Mr Ashok Kapur and Mr Rana Kapoor, reputed names in the banking industry. The bank is currently also working with Indian drug companies, having "profiled global opportunities" for them. Pharma and biotech are an area of priority for the bank, he said, adding that it was too premature to gauge the revenues that the bank could expect from the segment. The bank is also looking at expanding its presence overseas to tap the "traffic" between global and local companies. "We already have one alliance in Germany and are currently talking to three more companies. We are talking to a commercial bank in Germany, besides a dedicated life-sciences institute and a bank with a focus on biotech, both in the US," he said. He expected the alliances to get crystallised in another three months.
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