Chinese cancer drug maker BeiGene drops 5 per cent on Hong Kong debut

BeiGene, the first overseas-listed biotechnology firm to seek a secondary flotation in Hong Kong under revised listing rules, closed its trading debut down one per cent in the city.

Shares of the Beijing-based cancer drug maker, which is already listed on the Nasdaq, fell to as low as HK$103 from the offer price of HK$108 early on Wednesday morning. They later bounced back to close at HK$107 for the day.

The underwhelming debut performance came despite eight cornerstone investors – including the Singaporean sovereign fund GIC – buying a combined 31 per cent of the international shares offered.

BeiGene is the second biotech firm to float its stock in Hong Kong under new rules that came into effect in April. Both have got off to a bad start on the market.

“Biotechnology companies are new to investors in Hong Kong. They have not yet made any profit while some may not even have any revenue,” said Gordon Tsui Luen-on, managing director of Hong Kong-based brokerage Hantec Pacific.

“The poor performance of the first two biotechnology firms will have a negative impact on the other six biotech companies which have filed for listing in Hong Kong.