Chinese Precision Oncology Firm Burning Rock Biotech Files For US IPO

Burning Rock Biotech on Friday filed for a U.S. initial public offering (IPO), making it the latest Chinese firm to opt for an American listing amid tighter rules by lawmakers.

The firm, which focuses on precision oncology and early cancer detection, set a placeholder amount of $100 million and did not specify the size of its offering.

In a filing, the company said it intends to list its American Depository Shares on Nasdaq under the symbol ‘BNR’.

Sources said on Monday Nasdaq Inc would unveil new restrictions on IPOs, in a move that will make it harder for some Chinese companies to debut on its stock exchange due to their lack of accounting transparency and close ties to powerful insiders.

China’s Luckin Coffee Inc said on Tuesday Nasdaq had notified the company of plans to delist it from the exchange, a month after it disclosed that some employees had fabricated sales accounts.

Separately, the U.S. Senate passed legislation on Wednesday that could prevent some Chinese companies from listing their shares on U.S. exchanges unless they follow standards for U.S. audits and regulations.

Last week, Chinese online grocery firm Dada Nexus Ltd, a joint venture of e-commerce major JD.com, also filed for a U.S. listing.

Burning Rock Biotech’s net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders last year widened to 334.2 million yuan ($46.85 million) from 232.3 million yuan in 2018.

Morgan Stanley, BofA Securities and Cowen are among the lead underwriters to the company’s offering.

Reuters