Bayer HealthCare plans to spend around €100 million to "significantly increase" capacity of its Beijing, China pharmaceutical packaging facilities, the Leverkusen-based group said on the occasion of the visit by China's president Xi Jinping to Germany.

Bayer CEO Marijn Dekkers said the capacity expansion is designed to ensure a reliable supply of high-quality products to meet Chinese demand for the group's healthcare products including its cardiovascular and anti-diabetes drugs.

Dekkers said the expansion will include logistics areas for fully automated material handling, analytical laboratories, and high-speed packaging lines.

Olivier Brandicourt, CEO of Bayer HealthCare, said the investment will make Beijing the largest pharmaceuticals packaging site in the Bayer sub-group´s global production network.

Bayer is the fourth-largest multinational pharmaceutical company in China, with more than 7,000 employees and production sites in Beijing, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Qidong. Greater China is its largest single market in Asia, accounting for sales of around €3.7 billion.

The group already has a center for research and development in Beijing with investments of arond €100 million.