China's Burning Rock Biotech files for U.S. IPO

Luckin Coffee

22/05/2020 12:34

May 22 (Reuters) - 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  NDAQ.O  under the symbol
'BNR'. (https://bit.ly/36lTZWd)
    Sources said on Monday Nasdaq Inc  NDAQ.O  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.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2D100Y
    China's Luckin Coffee Inc  LK.O  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.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2D22XR
    Separately, the U.S. Senate passed https://in.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-stocks/senate-passes-bill-that-could-block-chinese-firms-from-u-s-securities-exchanges-idINKBN22W2Y2
 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  JD.O , 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.


($1 = 7.1339 Chinese yuan)

 (Reporting by Abhishek Manikandan in Bengaluru; Editing by
Ramakrishnan M.)
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