CHENNAI, AUGUST 30: M A Chidambaram group flagship company, Southern Petrochemical Industries Corporation (SPIC) today secured share-holders' approval for two loan swaps and to hive off its bio-technology and pharmaceuticals divisions.The company secured share-holders' approval for securing loans worth Rs 174.12 crore from Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) and Rs 45 crore from export-import (Exim) bank, which was used to pay off high-cost debt of Rs 114 crore to IDBI and Rs 60 crore to Exim bank.Giving details, company vice-chairman and president A C Muthaiah told reporters that the interest burden on the IDBI loan had come down three percentage points to 15.25 per cent, while that of Exim bank dropped five percentage points to 13.5 per cent."Reducing the interest burden is among our top priorities and this was a step in that direction," Muthaiah said. Referring to the resolution pertaining to the hiving-off of its bio-tech and pharma divisions, Muthaiah said the life sciences, just likethe software sector, was another area that would witness high growth in future."We have decided to hive-off the pharma and bio-tech segments after an independent valuation study. At the moment, we plan to have a 100 per cent subsidiary, though there have been some queries for joint venture," he said. The bio-tech division has plants at Coimbatore, Porur and Hosur in Tamil Nadu and is engaged in producing quality seeds for cotton and vegetables, besides operating a tissue culture centre.The pharma division has a facility to manufacture Penicillin-G in Cuddalore and a formulation unit at Maraimalai Nagar in Chengleput district.
