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Swiss agricultural chemicals company Syngenta is seeking advisers for a blockbuster listing that could be Hong Kong’s largest in years.
The Chinese-owned company on Thursday asked banks to submit proposals to advise on a potential listing in Hong Kong that could raise as much as $10bn, according to one person familiar with the plans. The figure would make it one of the territory’s 10 largest-ever initial public offerings.
Syngenta in 2024 scrapped a plan to float in Shanghai amid poor economic conditions in mainland China, tighter regulatory scrutiny of IPOs and a rough outlook for the agricultural sector.
ChemChina bought Syngenta in 2017 in a $44bn deal that was the largest-ever foreign takeover by a Chinese company at the time. It had wanted to list Syngenta earlier but was waylaid by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The IPO, which would be for 20 per cent of the company, would allow Syngenta to continue to invest in research and development, according to the person who did not have permission to speak publicly.
Syngenta said in a statement: “We do not comment on market rumours. We will continue to assess our capital markets strategies based on market conditions and other relevant factors that are in the best interests of our shareholders.”
The company added: “We intend to return to the capital markets when we are ready.”
