Yangtze River Pharmaceutical Group

Yangtze River Pharmaceutical Group, Ltd.

Type	Private ownership
Industry	Pharmaceutical
Founded	1971 (1971)
Headquarters	Taizhou, China
Area served	Central/Southeast Asia
Key people	Xu Jingren, Founder/President Xu Haoyu, Chairman/Interim CEO
Products	Antibiotics, Chemotherapy drugs, herbal remedies
Revenue	US$19.533 billion (2014)
Total assets	US$90.801 billion (2014)
Number of employees	9,700 (2013)
Website	yangzijiang.com/en/

Yangtze River Pharmaceutical Group (Chinese: 扬子江药业集团, YRPG) is a Chinese multinational pharmaceutical corporation headquartered in Taizhou, Jiangsu Province in the People's Republic of China, and with its research headquarters in Shanghai.^[1] It is one of the Asia's largest pharmaceutical companies by revenues, and was listed in 2014 as being China's second largest pharmaceutical manufacturer, and leading company for technological and entrepreneurial innovation.^[2]

History

Founded in 1971, the Yangtze River Pharmaceutical Group started as a local firm providing drugstores and hospitals with vitamin supplements and pain medication. For much of its early existence, profit margins were low due to the YRPG's inability to expand a fledgling sales network past a local level. This changed at the end of the 20th century, when sweeping economic and medical reforms placed an ever increasing demand on quality drug production.^[3] Located in a prime location between the major cities of Shanghai, Suzhou, and Hangzhou, the YRPG quickly expanded its business profile. The group has experienced significant growth in the past decade, having quadrupled their net income between 2003-2010.^[4] In the fiscal year 2014, board shareholders received a 560% return on their investment, and company assets rapidly expanded.^[4] The company also hosts 22 subsidiary firms across Asia, and has exploratory ventures in Europe, Canada, and the United States.

Family

With the company's quickly rising profile, founder Xu Jingren and his extended family—who jointly own a controlling stake in the corporation—have made a number of significant business acquisitions.^[5] Collectively, they are believed to be worth up to USD$7.5 billion. Forbes's most recent list of the The World's Billionaires estimated the value of Mr. Jingren at USD$2.3 billion^[6][7] and nephew Xu Mingbo, owner of research associate Beijing SL Pharmaceutical, at USD$1.1 billion.^[8] In addition to his role as president and primary shareholder of the YRPG, Xu Jingren is a member of the National People's Congress^[9] and serves as an honorary minister in the Ministry of Health. He has been recognized as a leading proponent of industrial modernization, worker's rights, and governmental reform within the Communist Party of China.^[10]

Xu's daughter, a practicing physician in the United States, has been heavily protected from public scrutiny at the family's request. Son Xu Haoyu has served as the executive chairman of the Board of Directors since 2003, and was named interim CEO in 2012.^[3] Xu Haoyu is also a senior board member and the largest private shareholder of China Eastern Airlines.^[11]

References