Renata gets nod to remit $7m to UK, Ireland

Renata Ltd, one of the major drug producers, has received permission from the Bangladesh Bank to remit $7 million to Ireland and the UK as it looks to expand its footprint in the European market, the company said yesterday.

In a filing on the website of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), the listed pharmaceuticals producer said the central bank permitted it to remit $2 million from its Exporters' Retention Quota (ERQ) account to Renata Pharmaceuticals (Ireland) Ltd and $5 million to Renata (UK) Ltd as paid-up capital.

The ERQ is the portion of the export proceeds that an exporter wants to retain in foreign currency.

Stocks of Renata rose 0.28 per cent to Tk 1,360 on the DSE yesterday.

"We want to set up offices there to increase our exports. We will have sales teams and they will run operations there. This will help expand our businesses fast in European markets," said Jubayer Alam, company secretary of Renata.

The drugmaker announced a 145 per cent cash dividend and 10 per cent stock dividend for the year that ended on June 30 of 2021.

The company said its earnings per share rose 14 per cent year-on-year to Tk 25.62 in the first six months of the current financial year.

Renata started its operations in 1972 as Pfizer (Bangladesh) Ltd. In 1993, Pfizer transferred the ownership of its Bangladesh operations to the local shareholders and the name of the company was changed to Renata Ltd.