Listing in the Hong Kong market was a crucial step for Hengrui, which could now enter the global capital market and fasten its globalisation process.
Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals, one of China’s biggest pharmaceutical companies, started the Hong Kong stock exchange on a positive trading debut, completing one of the most successful weeks for Hong Kong’s capital market in the past year. It was one of the significant steps in the company’s global expansion and helped to dust off the falling initial public offering (IPO) market.
It was not the only company making it to the charts. Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), an electric car battery manufacturer, traded shares worth over $6.5 billion in the Hong Kong market, the world’s most this year. The transaction pushed the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to the top of the global initial public offering (IPO) rankings.
Hengrui, trading under code 1276, raised HK$9.89 billion (US$1.26 billion) through a public offering. The stock opened at HK$57.00, up 29.4% from its offer price of HK$44.05.
The secret behind its successful debut was investors’ trust in its long-term potential, particularly its growing international business and advanced drug R&D capabilities.
Stock exchange filings reported that Hong Kong retail investors oversubscribed the tranche by 455 times, and the institutional tranche covered 17 times.
Dai Hongbin, deputy chairman of Hengrui, says that the company is honored to complete A shares (available for trading to mainland Chinese citizens) and H shares (open for trading to all investors) listing. The company has worked hard in this incredible journey and grown into an innovative and globally recognized pharmaceutical company.
Listing in the Hong Kong market was a crucial step for Hengrui, which could now enter the global capital market and fasten its globalization process.
He added that they will use this listing to strive for their initial goal of providing high-quality development in China’s pharmaceutical industry to provide patients worldwide with better and better innovative medicines.
Rob Chan, head of Citigroup’s equity capital market syndicate for Asia, stated that Chinese investors, hedge funds, sovereign wealth funds, and long-term international investors participated in Hengrui trading.
He added that there is a strong demand for high-quality names, as witnessed in the bookbuilding stage and the post-listing performance.
Hengrui is a state-owned generic drug manufacturer founded in 1970 in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province. Since then, it has evolved into a leading developer of advanced medications. It spent over 46 billion yuan (US$6.4 billion) on research and development and now has four other unique pharmaceuticals and 19 new commercial molecular entity drugs.
The company stated that it will use the IPO income to support clinical trials, increase production capacity, and fund general company goals.
Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, and Huatai International led the offering.
As Hong Kong continues to be a center for biotech and healthcare listings, Hengrui’s successful listing joins the list of Chinese pharma companies in the city’s capital markets.
Mirxes, a Singapore-headquartered cancer therapy company, was trading up to 37% higher in Hong Kong after its $139 million initial public offering.
Hong Kong demands new share sales despite the continued geopolitical tensions between the United States and China. The optimism was due to the recent 90-day pause in the tariff war.
With a 0.5% gain on Friday, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index is among the top-performing major markets globally this year, up 18% since the beginning of 2025.
According to London Stock Exchange (LSEG) data, the value of initial public offers and listings reached $9.82 billion, up from $1.1 billion at the same time last year. It shows that the higher market has contributed to the growth of Hong Kong’s equity capital market activities. Based on the data, it is the year’s best start since 2021.