The surge in the listing of "A+H" stocks continues. Can China Shijie Cell's Hong Kong listing ease its debt pressure?

Ask AI · Can the progress of Shen Zhou Cell’s R&D pipeline attract international capital?

On April 2nd, Shen Zhou Cell announced that to build an international capital operation platform and enhance overall competitiveness, the company plans to issue overseas listed shares (H-shares) and apply for listing on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Since 2024, policies have been continuously strengthened to support leading mainland enterprises to list in Hong Kong. Policy support has created a window for A-share companies to go public in Hong Kong. In 2025, a wave of “A+H” share listings is surging, with leading A-share pharmaceutical companies such as Hengrui Medicine, Baili Tianheng, Maiwei Biotech, Changchun High & New, and Betta Pharmaceuticals densely listing in Hong Kong. This trend is expected to continue into 2026. From the current development trend of the pharmaceutical industry, overseas markets offer greater industry growth potential, and internationalization is an essential path for domestic pharmaceutical companies to grow stronger.

Core products failed to increase sales through price cuts, performance turned from profit to loss

Affected by the ongoing deepening of medical insurance cost-control policies, Shen Zhou Cell’s first product, the third-generation recombinant coagulation factor VIII (brand name: Anjayi), has been repeatedly discounted, leading to a significant decline in the company’s overall revenue by 37.91% year-on-year to 1.56 billion yuan in 2025; after turning profitable in 2024, net profit attributable to the parent turned negative again in 2025, at -554 million yuan.

With core products impacted and revenue under pressure, R&D investment and sales expenses remain high, eroding net profit. Shen Zhou Cell mentioned in its 2025 semi-annual report that the company’s R&D and sales expenses remained high, and net profit turned from positive to negative during the reporting period.

Currently, Shen Zhou Cell has not released its 2025 annual report; R&D and sales expenses are undisclosed. However, it was mentioned in the quick report that the company continues to advance multiple pipelines in parallel, with several projects in late-stage clinical research. R&D investment remains high and impacts current profits. From the data in the third quarter of 2025, R&D expenditure reached 592 million yuan, accounting for 60.02% of revenue.

Regarding sales expenses, the 2025 performance quick report states that sales expenses increased year-on-year. The sales expenses for the first three quarters of 2025 were 629 million yuan, a 28.11% increase from the same period last year, mainly due to increased marketing efforts for already listed products and the formation of sales teams for newly launched products.

Looking at Shen Zhou Cell’s operational history, from 2017 to 2025, only 2024’s Anjayi achieved stable growth in sales revenue thanks to capacity and cost advantages, turning losses into profits and achieving a net profit attributable to the parent of 112 million yuan. All other years were in loss.

Despite revenue pressure, Shen Zhou Cell stated that through launching new products like Filonolumab (Anyouping), efficient advancement of R&D pipelines, and accelerating domestic supply chain localization, the company strives to reduce costs and increase efficiency to maintain steady development.

Going public in Hong Kong may ease debt pressure

However, for Shen Zhou Cell, which remains mostly in loss, debt pressure has always been significant. The third quarter 2025 report shows that as of September 30, 2025, total liabilities were 3.82B yuan, including short-term loans of 1.76B yuan and non-current liabilities due within one year of 804 million yuan.

In June 2025, Shen Zhou Cell issued 25 million A-shares to specific investors, Lhasa Aileke, raising 900 million yuan, with a net fundraising of 892 million yuan, all used to supplement working capital. However, this still cannot fully resolve the company’s funding difficulties. Due to high R&D costs relative to revenue, the company’s products are in a transitional phase, and its own “self-sustaining” capacity is insufficient. Coupled with the difficulty of refinancing in the A-share market, Shen Zhou Cell faces considerable financial pressure. Listing in Hong Kong may help alleviate this.

Since 2024, supportive policies have been continuously introduced, sparking a wave of A-share companies seeking IPOs in Hong Kong. In April 2024, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) issued “Five Measures for Capital Market Cooperation with Hong Kong,” explicitly supporting leading mainland enterprises to list in Hong Kong and leveraging “two markets, two resources” for regulated development. In November of the same year, CSRC Chairman Wu Qing stated in Hong Kong that they would “maintain smooth overseas financing channels and further improve the efficiency of overseas listing filings.” The Hong Kong Stock Exchange also launched a series of reforms to attract A-share listed companies: lowering the “A+H” listing threshold, adjusting the initial public shareholding requirement from 15% to 10% or a market value of HKD 3 billion, increasing system flexibility; establishing a fast-track approval process for companies with an estimated market value of HKD 10 billion or more, promising review within 30 working days; and in May 2025, launching the “Tech Enterprise Special Line,” creating green channels for specialized tech and biotech companies, allowing confidential filings, further facilitating cross-border listings for mainland enterprises.

CICC research reports indicate that, beyond macro policy support and Hong Kong stock market performance, many companies choose to list in Hong Kong due to internal needs, such as expanding overseas business and increasing the proportion of overseas investors.

For Shen Zhou Cell, the Hong Kong market’s more flexible refinancing mechanisms, shorter issuance cycles, and the internationalized nature of the market are more conducive to attracting global investors, enhancing international brand image, and increasing global recognition. However, the valuation and regulatory requirements for biotech and pharmaceutical companies in Hong Kong are becoming more market-oriented. The progress of Shen Zhou Cell’s pipeline and its commercialization capabilities will remain key factors in whether it can gain capital recognition and achieve long-term steady growth.

Beijing News Reporter Wang Kala

Editor Wang Lu

Proofreader Mu Xiangtong