Syngenta Pulls China IPO Application After Three-Year Wait

(Bloomberg) — Syngenta Group withdrew its long-delayed application for a $9 billion initial public offering in Shanghai, another blow to China’s equity markets after Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. this week scrapped the listing of its logistics arm.

The Chinese-owned seed and pesticide giant “will look to restart the listing process, either in China or a different global exchange, when the conditions are right,” Syngenta said Friday in a statement on its website. “It will also explore alternate sources of funding.”

The announcement, which confirmed a report by Bloomberg News, is further evidence of the headwinds confronting Chinese equities, with the economy weighed down by a long-running real estate crisis, deflationary pressure and geopolitical tensions. The benchmark CSI 300 Index touched a five-year low in early February and is down 39% from its 2021 peak, even as US and European stocks touch record highs.

E-commerce pioneer Alibaba on Tuesday called off an initial public offering for its Cainiao logistics arm in Hong Kong, the second time it’s halted a high-profile debut for one of its businesses. Equity capital markets elsewhere, meanwhile, are finally picking up after a two-year drought, with social-media company Reddit Inc. listing in the US this month and skin-care company Galderma Group AG going public in Switzerland.

Syngenta first filed for an IPO in China’s financial hub in 2021, but its listing has been snagged by various issues. The most recent delay came in November, when the company said it would postpone the offering until the end of 2024 because of volatile markets. That float would have raised 65 billion yuan ($9 billion). It also said it would explore alternative options for expanding its shareholder base.

Now, the Swiss company says it’s withdrawing the listing “after careful consideration of industry environment and the company’s own development strategy.”

Also Friday, Syngenta reported results for the fourth quarter. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization climbed 15% to $1 billion, while sales advanced 5% to $7.9 billion, driven by crop protection and its business in China.  

Syngenta was bought by China National Chemical Corp., or ChemChina, in 2017 for $43 billion, a record-breaking overseas acquisition for the country, and one that spoke to Beijing’s growing concerns around food security. Syngenta’s products, including genetically modified seeds, are important building blocks for improving the quality and quantity of China’s agricultural production.

ChemChina has since been absorbed into Sinochem Holdings Corp. 

(Updates with Syngenta earnings in seventh paragraph.)

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