Syngenta’s US$9.5 billion IPO in China remains in limbo after unexplained last-minute cancellation of listing meeting

The agrichemical producer, controlled by China National Chemical Corp, has received no official explanation, nor any word on next steps, a source says

Speculation includes the idea that regulators may worry the giant IPO could siphon money from existing equities and derail an ongoing rebound

Reading Time:3 minutes

Syngenta Group’s global headquarters in Basel, Switzerland. Photo: Handout

Published: 6:00pm, 3 Apr 2023Updated: 3:46pm, 27 Apr 2023

Syngenta Group’s 65 billion yuan (US$9.5 billion) initial public offering (IPO) is in limbo after the Shanghai Stock Exchange abruptly scrapped a final hearing that would have cleared the way for the world’s biggest stock sale this year.

The Basel-based seed and agrichemical giant, which is controlled by state-backed China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina), has not received official notification of why the meeting was cancelled just a day before its application was supposed to be vetted on March 29, according to a source familiar with the matter. The company is still waiting for information from the Shanghai exchange as to what happens next, the source said.

Stock traders’ explanations for the flip-flop include speculation that the IPO may be transferred to a mainboard listing because of its size and regulators’ concern that the size of the offering could derail an ongoing rebound in stocks.

Both Syngenta and the Shanghai bourse declined to comment.

People walk on the street near a large screen showing stock-exchange data in Shanghai on March 15, 2023. Photo: EPA-EFE

“This isn’t supposed to be how things are going for the IPO,” said Wang Chen, a partner at Xufunds Investment Management in Shanghai. “It’s a state-owned company in nature and is doing good business.”

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x