Chinese pharmaceutical giant Sinopharm (01099.HK) said it plans to spend at least US$759 million on new company acquisitions over the next couple of years, Bloomberg reported. The firm has spent roughly the same figure buying up over 60 companies since its IPO launch in September 2009. The company said Wednesday it will spend a similar amount in the following two years with the aim of growing its presence to 300 cities from about 100 today. However, pharmaceutical acquisitions within China have grown increasingly expensive in recent months. The firm said that it paid just under US$200 million for a 60% stake in two Heibei units of Le Ren Tang Pharmaceutical, which – at 25 times 2010 earnings, make it one of the company’s most expensive purchases.