HK Stock Connect Insight | RIBOLIFE-B (06938.HK): Southbound stake rises to 1.93% after Stock Connect inclusion on Sept 7

NewTimeSpace News: RIBOLIFE-B (06938.HK) published a voluntary announcement on 10 November stating that the company has submitted an application for a Phase I clinical trial in the European Union for SR122, a dual-target siRNA drug it has developed in-house. SR122 is a GalNAc-conjugated siRNA therapy intended for the treatment of dyslipidemia, including severe hypertriglyceridemia and mixed dyslipidemia, and it targets both ApoC3 and PCSK9. The Phase I clinical trial is a randomized, placebo-controlled study designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of subcutaneous administration of SR122 in healthy participants.

In the Hong Kong market, the shares of RIBOLIFE-B have retreated steadily from their post-listing highs. The company listed on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange on 9 January 2026 at an offer price of HK57.97, offering 31,610,400 H Shares globally for gross proceeds of about HK1,832 million and net proceeds of about HK1,702 million; it closed at HK82.100 on its first trading day, 41.6% above the offer price. The highest close since listing was HK86.800 on 12 January, when the shares traded as high as HK95.800 intraday; the decline continued thereafter, with the lowest close since listing of HK41.500 on 3 November and the lowest intraday price since listing of HK39.000 on 4 November. As at the afternoon open on 11 November, the shares stood at HK$44.780, up 0.54%.

On southbound holdings, the company was admitted to the Hang Seng Composite Index following the quarterly review results published by Hang Seng Indexes Company on 21 August, with the changes implemented after the close on 4 September and taking effect on 7 September, when the stock was added to the Stock Connect list and the company published a voluntary announcement confirming the inclusion. According to Choice data, southbound holdings started at 621,200 shares on their first disclosure on 9 September, equal to 0.35% of issued H shares, and have trended almost continuously higher since. Southbound holdings stood at 3,311,600 shares, or 1.93%, on 10 November, an increase of 2,690,400 shares over 9 September.

On the share swap acquisition, according to the announcement of 19 October, the company entered into a share swap agreement on 16 October with the minority shareholders of its Swedish subsidiary Ribocure Pharmaceuticals AB, proposing to issue 14,087,085 new H Shares as consideration for the acquisition of the 49.71% issued shares of Ribocure they currently hold, at an exchange ratio of 15 H Shares of RIBOLIFE-B for every one share of the target company. The consideration was determined with reference to the assessed value of 100% of the target company's equity interests as at 30 June 2026 of SEK1,997.3 million, equivalent to approximately HK1,610 million, of which 49.71% corresponds to approximately HK801 million, equivalent to HK56.83 per consideration share, a discount of approximately 10.96% to the closing price of HK50.60 on the date of the agreement. Upon completion, the share capital of the company would increase from 170,554,910 shares to 184,641,995 shares and Ribocure would become a wholly-owned subsidiary. The transaction constitutes a discloseable transaction and a connected transaction and remains subject to approval by independent shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting, with the circular expected to be published on or before 4 December.

On institutional research, China Merchants Securities International noted in reports published around the Stock Connect inclusion that the company sees multi-dimensional gains in both fundamentals and capital flows following its inclusion in the eligible securities list, with revenue for the period exceeding market expectations and cash on hand of RMB2.2 billion as at the interim report, while the clinical 2b trials of core product RBD4059 in atrial fibrillation and VTE are progressing steadily with four 2b trials expected to run in parallel; the firm also noted that the company has four assets at clinical Phase II or above, of which three carry global rights and one has been licensed to Qilu Pharmaceutical for domestic rights.