PRIME MINISTER:
Thank you Mr Soriot, Chief Executive of AstraZeneca. You’re the leading manufacturer of pharmaceuticals in Australia and so committed to the excellence of your team in Australia and the big export business you’ve built out of Australia in this pharmaceutical industry. In advanced manufacturing, you’re investing another $100 million to expand your plant in Sydney.
That is great news. Congratulations, thank you. Now tell us all about it.
MR PASCAL SORIOT, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, ASTRAZENECA:
Yeah thank you Prime Minister, it’s been a great pleasure to announce this $100 million investment in Australia.
That comes on the back of another $100 million we’ve invested in the last few years in this facility. That is really a centre of excellence for us, for the manufacture of inhaler products for the treatment of asthma and COPD.
We intend through this incremental investment, we intend to generate about $2.6 billion of exports out of Australia to a great variety of markets including China. And these products are growing very very rapidly and we expect to generate even more investments in jobs in Australia over the next few years.
And I was saying a few minutes ago, it really pleases me particularly to make this investment because despite my accent I am an Australian by adoption. My children, my family live there and I plan to retire to Australia. So it’s really a very pleasing investment for me to able to announce today.
We have a tremendous team there, they’ve done a tremendous job. It’s really high quality manufacturing, really specialised manufacturing in the pharmaceutical industry and it’s our centre of excellence for the world.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well thank you Pascal, good luck and I hope it’s many years before you retire. You look very young and vigorous.
[ENDS]