Ranbaxy shares slide 35% on US import alert

Ranbaxy is India's biggest drugmaker

Shares in India's biggest drugmaker, Ranbaxy, have sunk to a record low after the US drugs regulator issued an import alert for one of its plants.

The alert by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allows authorities to detain drugs on the list "without physical sampling and analysis".

The FDA says it issues an alert when a firm does not conform with "current good manufacturing practices".

Ranbaxy shares fell as much as 35% to their lowest since its listing in 1991.

The FDA issued an alert for products made at Ranbaxy's Mohali plant on Friday.

This comes months after Ranbaxy agreed to pay a record $500m (£313m) in fines over drug safety charges in the US.

HSBC downgraded the firm to "underweight" from "overweight" over the import alert, indicating it was less optimistic about the company's prospects.

Ranbaxy has faced problems in the US over the past several years, including delays in getting approval from the FDA for its drugs because of quality control problems at some of its Indian manufacturing facilities.