The Straits Times / The Business Times News on AsiaPharm

Asiapharm Group of China plans SGX listing

Shandong-based firm aims to raise at least $20.6m

By Kenneth Lim - Apr 02, 2004
The Business Times

CONTINUING Wednesday's red wave of China plays looking to list on the Singapore Exchange, Shandong-based specialty pharmaceutical company Asiapharm Group said yesterday that it plans to raise at least $20.6 million through a mainboard listing.

After a dry period for IPO lodgements for most of March, this week saw six companies lodge preliminary prospectuses with the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the latest being Asiapharm. Four are China plays, or companies with major shareholders or business in China.

Six China plays have already listed on the Singapore Exchange this year. And if all the six companies that have lodged preliminary prospectuses with MAS make it to listing, the number of new China plays will be just one short of the 13 listed last year. The six China plays already listed this year raised a total of $302.7 million, about 42 per cent of the $713.3 million raised from the 21 new listings this year.

Asiapharm is involved in several aspects of the pharmaceutical value chain. It manufactures and sells a wide range of products, including its in-house developed anti-inflammatory drug Maitongna, which it says has a 70 per cent market share in China.

The company also distributes other manufacturers' products and sells active ingredients for the making of drugs. Asiapharm also employs 89 researchers and provides evaluation and trial services to drug makers.

The company, which made a net profit of 42.6 million renminbi (S$8.5 million) last year, plans to use $16.5 million of its net IPO proceeds to expand research and development, production and distribution. Another $2.1 million will be used to repay bank loans, and the remaining as working capital.