The company started trading in Shanghai early last year, with its share price rising over 120% in two weeks
SICHUAN Biokin Pharmaceutical filed for a Hong Kong listing that could raise about US$500 million, people familiar with the matter said. This makes the potential initial public offering (IPO) one of the larger deals in the market’s pipeline.
The drugmaker, which is already listed in Shanghai, filed a preliminary prospectus on Wednesday (Jul 11), without going into detail on the size of the initial public offering.
Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Citic Securities are joint sponsors for the share sale, the prospectus showed.
Deliberations are ongoing and the size of the IPO may change, said the sources, who asked not to be identified discussing private information.
Biokin did not respond to a request for comment.
It was reported in May that Chengdu-based Biokin was planning an IPO, potentially as soon as early next year.
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The company has research and development centres in China and the US, along with other facilities.
Hong Kong’s market has been subdued recently, with IPOs slumping to their lowest level in two decades in 2023.
While activity is picking up and the financial hub is in its busiest week for IPOs this year, the sentiment is far from buoyant given that half of the six latest debuts fell below their offer prices.
Biokin started trading at 24.70 yuan in Shanghai early last year, soaring over 120 per cent in two weeks to 54.60 yuan.
It was trading at 162.32 yuan on Thursday afternoon, giving the company a market value of 65 billion yuan (S$12.1 billion). BLOOMBERG
