Chinese authorities have halted drug manufacturing in the northern city of Shijiazhuang as part of a crackdown on pollution. The shuttering of the three plants is expected to last until year-end.
Other manufacturing shutdowns in the city include steel, cement, and coal-electricity plants, authorities said.
The crackdown on air pollution is part of the government’s efforts over the past few years to reduce the blankets of smog that settle over China’s northern cities during the winter and have been known to be hazardous to health as well as create traffic hazards, Reuters reported.
Three drug manufacturers in Shijiazhuang were shuttered and halted trading of their shares on the Hong Kong stock market: North China Pharmaceutical, CSPC Pharmaceutical Group and SSY Group. The city is located about 200 miles from Beijing.
"The group has been actively cooperating with the government on environmental protection work and is making an application to the Shijiazhuang municipal government for permission to continue its normal pharmaceutical production in Shijiazhuang," CSPC said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange.