Major German animal vaccine supplier to invest in Taiwan: COA 2013/04/05 21:26:01Taipei, April 5 (CNA) Agriculture Minister Chen Bao-ji confirmed Friday that Lohmann Animal Health GmbH, the world's fourth largest supplier of poultry vaccines, will invest US$100 million in Taiwan in the second half of the year to set up an Asian center in the country. Once the center is completed, it will produce an estimated 3 billion doses of vaccine a year for export to Asia, the Council of Agriculture (COA) said.Lohmann declined to comment when asked about the project by CNA.Asia's rapid economic development has provided a fertile environment for infectious diseases in recent years, including the H1N1 swine flu strain and H5N1 bird flu virus, which has created demand for vaccines. Lohmann understands the vast commercial potential for animal vaccines in Asia, but it felt transportation costs from Europe were too high and wanted to set up a center in Asia, the COA explained. Because Taiwan's investment environment, including its location, technology, wage level, and adherence to the rule of law met Lohmann's conditions, it replaced Japan as the company's top option in Asia. The German company will likely invest in the Pingtung Agricultural Biotechnology Park set up by the COA, and its CEO is scheduled to visit Taiwan next month to finalize its contract with the park.Work on the company's plant should start two months after the signing of the contract, according to the COA.(By Yang Shu-min and Lilian Wu)
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