Agricultural Giant Syngenta Withdraws IPO Application in China
The Shanghai Stock Exchange stopped the review process on Friday
Agricultural giant Syngenta Group has withdrawn its application to list in Shanghai after a yearslong pursuit of an initial public offering.
The seed and pesticide producer decided to withdraw its IPO application on the Shanghai Stock Exchange after thorough consideration of its development strategy and the environment of the global industry, it said in a statement Friday.
“It will look to restart the listing process, either in China or a different global exchange, when the conditions are right. It will also explore alternate sources of funding,” Syngenta said.
The Chinese-owned company first filed for an IPO in 2021 but its listing has been delayed multiple times. The company last cited weak market conditions in November. It had hoped to raise 65 billion yuan ($8.99 billion) via a listing.
The Shanghai Stock Exchange said in a notice on Friday that it processed the company’s IPO application last May, but recently received a withdrawal application. The stock exchange stopped the review process on Friday.
Last May, the company said it would seek a listing on Shanghai’s main market after withdrawing its application to list on China’s Nasdaq-style STAR Market.
The scrapping of the IPO plans comes after Chinese stock markets have experienced volatility in recent months amid softer investor confidence over the world’s second-largest economy’s slowing growth and foreign investment outflows. The benchmark CSI300 fell 12% over the past 12 months and touched a five-year low before the Lunar New Year holiday last month.
Syngenta’s earnings have also been facing pressure. The group reported lower third-quarter sales across all business units. Revenue in the first nine months of 2023 fell 6% to $24.3 billion, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization slid 22% to around $3.5 billion, dragged by high inventories and rising costs for customers hurt by a significantly weaker market in Brazil.
The Swiss company was acquired by Chinese state-owned company ChemChina for $43 billion in 2017.