Biotechnology groups listed in Hong Kong have tapped funds at a record pace in 2021 as buoyant markets and rising interest from global investors bolster the Asian bourse’s challenge to Wall Street’s hold on the sector, reported the Financial Times.
Follow-on equity issuance by biotech companies listed in the city has hit $4.1 billion this year, according to data provider Dealogic. That is equivalent to more than 60% of the total for all of 2020.
In 2020, new biotech listings in Hong Kong raised more than $6.4 billion, almost double the previous year’s total. The coronavirus pandemic has helped sharpen investor focus on promising medical treatments emerging in China, where drug production has also been sped up by a streamlined approvals process, reported the FT.
“Investors are keen to support the companies that are continuously making good clinical progress, and have potential catalysts” after their initial public offerings, said Cathy Zhang, Morgan Stanley’s head of healthcare for global capital markets in Asia. “The trend is sending a very positive signal to the Hong Kong capital market right now that this sector has become more mature,” she said.