Medical firms busy in IPO action

Two mainland companies involved in the medical field launched initial public offerings in Hong Kong yesterday to raise up to HK$5.38 billion between them.

One of them, Kanji Medical, is a maker of instruments for minimally invasive surgery. Its IPO attracted more than HK$67 billion in retail orders - a sum greater than for mega secondary listings last week.

Kangji, which is aiming to raise as much as HK$3.13 billion, saw the retail portion of its IPO oversubscribed by 216 times within the day. The company is issuing 225 million shares with an indicative price range of HK$12.3 to HK$13.8 each. The minimum investment is HK$7,009 per 500 shares.

Also yesterday, Hygeia Healthcare, a radiotherapy equipment maker backed by Warburg Pincus, drew retail investors to place more than HK$20 billion-worth of orders in the day for its IPO worth up to HK$2.22 billion. Hygeia is offering 120 million shares for between HK$17 and HK$18.5, with a minimum investment of HK$3,737.

The two companies are set to debut on June 29.

Meanwhile, Shenzhen Hepalink Pharmaceutical, the world's biggest exporter of the active ingredient for blood thinner heparin, has passed a listing hearing for a Hong Kong IPO which could raise around US$400 million (HK$3.11 billion).

In other IPO action, NetEase (9999), the mainland's second largest online game developer, announced that total funds raised from its Hong Kong secondary listing have been enlarged to HK$24.2 billion after joint global coordinators fully exercised a greenshoe option.

Hong Kong's IPO market is expected to raise HK$87.1 billion in the first half, ranking third around the world.