29x P/E, the largest IPO on the STAR Market—Zhengda’s listing faces uncertainty

The market widely believes this suspension is intended to prevent a large-cap stock from excessively draining market liquidity; halting the listing reflects considerations for market stability. After all, Syngenta may be the company with the highest IPO fundraising amount in the past decade. As of March 28, there are a total of 5,126 A-share companies. Only three have raised over RMB 60 billion via IPO: Agricultural Bank of China (RMB 68.5 billion), PetroChina (RMB 66.8 billion), and China Shenhua Energy (RMB 66.6 billion). Four other companies raised over RMB 50 billion: China Construction Bank, SMIC, China Mobile, and China State Construction Engineering Corporation—raising RMB 58.1 billion, RMB 53.2 billion, RMB 52 billion, and RMB 50.2 billion respectively. Agricultural Bank of China ranks first with RMB 68.5 billion in fundraising. PetroChina and China Shenhua rank second and third. These three listings occurred long ago: ABC listed in July 2010; PetroChina and China Shenhua both listed in October 2007. Therefore, Syngenta’s planned fundraising of RMB 65 billion would be the largest A-share IPO in the past 13 years since ABC’s listing—and fourth-largest overall on the A-share market. Meanwhile, Syngenta could also break the STAR Market’s fundraising record currently held by SMIC (RMB 53.2 billion). According to Yanke Jun’s statistics, the average online subscription success rate for STAR Market IPOs stands at 0.04%. For large-cap stocks, however, the rate is slightly higher—for example, SMIC and China Mobile (listed on the Main Board) achieved subscription rates of 0.21% and 0.12%, freezing RMB 6.55 trillion and RMB 17 trillion in funds respectively. Syngenta’s fundraising amount slightly exceeds those of SMIC and China Mobile. Assuming a subscription rate of 0.15%, it would freeze approximately RMB 10 trillion in funds—exerting significant pressure on market liquidity. The true reason behind Syngenta’s suspended review meeting remains undisclosed. If fundraising scale is the main concern, Syngenta could adopt an alternative approach: raising capital first in the primary market before listing on the A-share market. From its shareholder structure perspective, Syngenta Group China directly holds 99.1% of shares and indirectly holds another 0.9% through Syngenta Agrochemicals, resulting in full 100% ownership. Its ultimate controlling party is the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) of the State Council—making it a wholly state-owned central enterprise. Given its highly concentrated ownership structure, Syngenta could consider introducing strategic investors to reduce direct fundraising needs. Per its issuance plan, Syngenta intends to issue approximately 2.786 billion new shares to raise RMB 65 billion—implying an issue price of RMB 23.33 per share. Prior to listing, its total share capital stands at 11.145 billion shares; adding the planned 2.786 billion shares brings the post-issuance total to 13.931 billion shares. At RMB 23.33 per share, Syngenta’s estimated market capitalization would reach around RMB 325 billion. Assuming a pre-IPO valuation of RMB 325 billion, even selling just 10% of equity ahead of listing would raise RMB 32.5 billion—half its original target—significantly easing pressure on the secondary market. After listing, the controlling shareholder would still retain roughly 80% ownership, maintaining firm control over the company. From a timeline perspective, bringing in strategic investors at this stage would substantially delay the IPO process. Alternatively, Syngenta could consider securing cornerstone investors. With China International Capital Corporation (CICC), Bank of China International, and CITIC Securities jointly supporting the listing, Syngenta’s eventual listing appears merely a matter of timing. 2. Under normal circumstances, Syngenta is expected to surpass SMIC and become the new STAR Market champion by market capitalization. As of March 28, SMIC’s total market capitalization stands at approximately RMB 390 billion—about 20% higher than Syngenta’s projected post-IPO valuation.

Hong Kong Exchanges’ largest-ever agricultural IPO is coming

Formerly 'China Private Equity Investment' Photo: Bob Planned fundraising: ~USD 5 billion; if oversubscribed, maximum potential fundraising could rise to USD 10 billion. Recently, according to Bloomberg, Syngenta Group—the global agribusiness and crop protection giant—has confidentially filed its IPO application with the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), targeting approximately USD 5 billion (roughly RMB 33.5 billion) in proceeds. If everything proceeds smoothly, Syngenta aims to complete its IPO bell-ringing ceremony in 2027. Upon listing, it will surpass Muyuan Foods to become HKEX’s largest-ever agricultural IPO. Target fundraising: RMB 33.5 billion, HKEX’s largest-ever agricultural IPO The report also notes that if international investor demand significantly exceeds expectations, the fundraising target could be raised to as high as USD 10 billion. On the underwriting front, Syngenta has appointed CICC and Goldman Sachs as joint global coordinators, with Bank of America, CITIC Securities, and UBS also participating in the IPO underwriting—forming a syndicate well-positioned to cover both mainland Chinese and overseas institutional investors. It should be noted that historically, there have been few comparable agricultural-sector IPOs on HKEX. The benchmark thus far is Muyuan Foods’ H-share IPO, which debuted earlier this year. In February 2026, Muyuan Foods raised approximately HKD 10.684 billion in its base offering; with full exercise of the greenshoe option, total proceeds reached up to HKD 12.038 billion—making it, at the time, the largest recent IPO among China’s livestock and agriculture enterprises on the Hong Kong market. Syngenta’s targeted fundraising of USD 5 billion (approximately HKD 39.2 billion or RMB 33.5 billion) significantly exceeds Muyuan’s H-share offering size. Once executed, it will set a new fundraising record for agricultural IPOs on HKEX. However, as of now, Syngenta Group has not officially confirmed this IPO plan. All final information should be subject to official disclosures. HKEX’s confidential filing mechanism is a common arrangement in large-cap IPO processes. It allows qualified large issuers to submit application documents internally to HKEX without publicly disclosing the prospectus at the initial stage. Before regulators complete preliminary inquiries and the issuer begins formal roadshows, the full prospectus remains unavailable to the public—helping avoid premature exposure of valuation expectations during volatile market periods, and enabling issuers to flexibly adjust offering size and timing based on prevailing capital market conditions.

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Syngenta aims for valuation of at least $66 billion with IPO, sources say

Syngenta aims for valuation of at least $66 billion with IPO, sources say

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