Split China business and plan to list in Hong Kong? AstraZeneca China President responds! AstraZeneca | China | Hong Kong
In response to foreign media reports that AstraZeneca has formulated a plan to split its Chinese business and plan to go public separately in Hong Kong, Wang Lei, AstraZeneca's Global Executive Vice President, International Business and China President, responded to First Financial reporters on June 19, saying, "Rumors!"
The Financial Times reported on June 18th, citing three insiders, that AstraZeneca began discussing the idea of splitting its Chinese business with investment banks a few months ago, but emphasized that "the split may not happen in the end.".
AstraZeneca is the largest listed company in the UK with a market value of 183 billion pounds. China is the second largest market for AstraZeneca globally, and AstraZeneca is also the largest overseas pharmaceutical company in China, generating approximately $1.6 billion in revenue in the first quarter of this year.
Currently, AstraZeneca supplies drugs to approximately 70 global markets through its production and supply base in China. In March of this year, AstraZeneca officially launched the construction of its Qingdao factory and stated that it will continue to expand investment in the two existing production bases in Wuxi and Taizhou.
Over the past 30 years of development in China, AstraZeneca has attached great importance to localization and established a research and development joint venture with China Fund, Dieter Pharmaceuticals, in 2017 to separate its China Innovation Center. In December 2021, Dizhe Pharmaceutical was listed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board.
AstraZeneca also expressed interest in trading with Chinese biotechnology companies. In March of this year, AstraZeneca CEO Su Boke visited China and stated that the company has "no restrictions" on acquiring Chinese companies.
In May of this year, AstraZeneca and Shanghai Lixin Pharmaceutical signed a cooperation agreement worth up to $600 million to obtain a global license for a potential anti-cancer drug. In addition, AstraZeneca has signed a cooperation agreement with Chinese partners to sell a traditional Chinese medicine that lowers cholesterol.
Due to the large and aging population in China, more and more people are suffering from diseases caused by smoking, pollution, and improper diet, making China an attractive market for many multinational pharmaceutical companies. In recent years, the Chinese government has also accelerated the approval process for innovative therapies, attempting to encourage pharmaceutical companies to expand their business scope, rather than just providing old drugs or generic drugs in China.