Three pharmaceutical giants are poised to stop their investments in Tunisia. It follows a series negative economic news that continued to flow from Tunisia under a President who is more interested merely in talking than actually doing anything to stop the financial collapse.
According to a Sephire, a union representing the pharmaceutical industry (Sephire), local subsidiaries of Bayer, GSK et Novarti are expected to close down their Tunisia facilities.
Pfizer’s Tunisia business could follow suit if it doesn’t intervene to support the sector, Sephire president Amine Zagdoudi told Tunisian news agency TAP.
Pharmaceutical investors point to the government’s failure to pay medicine manufacturers in the country. They owe them 243 million dollars.
The departure of the three big pharmaceutical manufacturers from Tunisia is also due to “serious financial, administrative and governance dysfunctions,” Zaghdoudi added.
The crisis in Tunisia’s pharmaceutical sector is a reflection on the crumbling finances of North African country, where a shortage of foreign currency reserves has caused imports to be curtailed and led to shortages of many vital goods.
The list of essentials has grown to include petrol, diesel and sugar, as well as coffee, flour, and fruits and veggies, just to name a few.
Many sugar shortages in the country have caused job losses at many biscuit, soft drink and yoghurt factories. These are expected to increase as the country fails to improve their financial balances.
Credit rating agencies rank Tunisia’s default risk as high, sending a discomforting message to suppliers.
Morgan Stanley warned that Tunisia was on the verge of default earlier this year unless an IMF financing agreement is reached.
Without an IMF deal, Morgan Stanley projects the debt pile will continue to balloon until it exceeds the size of the country’s economic output in 2025.
Source: north africa post
