BRIEF: Bao Pharma doubles in Hong Kong trading debut

Shares Shanghai Bao Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. (2659.HK) opened up 128% in their Hong Kong trading debut on Wednesday, and held on to the gains during the morning session to close up 125% at HK$59.50 by the midday break.
The company sold 37.91 million shares for HK$26.38 apiece, raising HK$920 million ($118 million). The public portion of the offering for local Hong Kong investors was 3,525 times oversubscribed, while the international tranche was 5.6 times oversubscribed.
The company focuses on four strategic therapeutic areas: large-volume subcutaneous drug delivery, antibody-mediated autoimmune conditions, assisted reproduction and recombinant biologic products.
The company plans to use 53.5% of the IPO proceeds for R&D and commercialization of its core products. Another 17.7% will go to advancing other pipeline assets and preparation for related registration filings. Approximately 8.4% will go to improving the company’s proprietary synthetic biology technology platforms, while 10.4% go to enhancement and scaling up its manufacturing capabilities.
By Lau Chi Hang
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