Jiangsu Hengrui makes solid Hong Kong trading debut as shares jump 25%
Company raises HK$9.89 billion (US$1.29 billion), with the proceeds to be used to support clinical trials and expand production capacity
Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals, one of China’s largest drug makers, began trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange on Friday, marking a key step in its international expansion and giving a boost to the city’s recovering initial public offerings (IPO) market.
Trading under code 1276, Hengrui first changed hands at HK$57.00, up 29.4 per cent to its offer price of HK$44.05, in a stock offering that raised HK$9.89 billion (US$1.26 billion).
The stock climbed as much as 37 per cent before ending the day 25 per cent higher at HK$55.15, giving it a market capitalisation of HK$12.38 billion in Hong Kong. In Shanghai, its shares fell 1.6 per cent to 54.50 yuan.
“Hengrui has experienced an extraordinary journey, growing into an innovative, international large-scale listed pharmaceutical company,” said Dai Hongbin, deputy chairman, adding that the company was honoured to complete the A shares plus H shares listing.
“Listing in Hong Kong is a key step for Hengrui to enter the international capital market and accelerate innovation and internationalisation,” he said. “We will take this listing as a new starting point, remain true to our original aspiration, forge ahead, strive for high-quality development and global layout, and inject strong impetus into the high-quality development of China’s pharmaceutical industry, providing better innovative medicines for patients worldwide.”
The strong debut signals solid investor confidence in the company’s long-term prospects, particularly its growing international pipeline and innovative drug research and development capabilities.