China’s genomics giant BGI seeks GEM listing

China’s genomics powerhouse BGI resumed Tuesday its application for a listing on the Growth Enterprises Market (GEM) board on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, after being stuck in the country’s clogged pipeline for one year, local media is reporting. Earlier the genomics giant’s IPO review was suspended due to incomplete documents.

If successful, the listing may make the company’s market cap top RMB 100 billion, according to an earlier report (in Chinese).

Dubbed the “Tencent of China’s biology sector”, BGI is one of the leading genome sequencing centers in the world.  Its five largest customers include China National Tobacco Corporation and the University of Oxford.

With the improvement of people’s livelihoods, the increase in life expectancy and the rollout of the country’s two-child policy, more spending is expected on genetic testing services, which will boost the performance of the genomics giant.

Of the total RMB 1.71 billion revenue booked in 2016, the genomics firm’s core business – reproductive health-related genetic testing services – contributed RMB 929 million.

The Shenzhen-headquartered firm plans to raise RMB 1.73 billion from the initial public offering, and use the cash to build its cloud service ecosystem, upgrade the platforms of its medical test solutions and precision medical service, construct its genomics research center, according to the prospectus it filed with the Shenzhen bourse.

Though BGI has become a market leader in the country’s genomics market, the rapid growth of other players has made them competitors to reckon with, including Berry Genomics (“贝瑞和康”), Daan Gene (“达安基因”), CapitalBio (“博奥生物”), NOVO Gene (“诺禾致源”).

China’s genome sequencing market is predicted to witness an annual compound growth rate of more than 20% (in Chinese), while the global genome sequencing market is predicted to reach US$ 11 billion next year, with an annual compound growth rate of 29%, according to an estimate by BCC Research.