Syngenta Is Said to Hire Banks for Potential Hong Kong IPO
(Bloomberg) — Syngenta Group has started selecting banks for what may be one of Hong Kong’s biggest initial public offerings, according to people familiar with the matter.
China International Capital Corp. and UBS Group AG are helping the Chinese-owned agricultural technology company to prepare a share sale, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. Other banks including Bank of America Corp. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are likely to get a role, the people said.
Some banks have pitched an offering of $4 billion to $5 billion, the people said. The company may consider raising as much as $10 billion depending on market conditions and demand, one of the people said.
While an IPO could take place as soon as this year, there’s a chance it could take longer, the people said. Syngenta may consider a dual listing in Zurich, although no final decisions have been made, one of the people said.
Considerations are ongoing and details including size might change, the people said. Syngenta may also add other banks, they added.
A representative for Syngenta declined to comment on a potential IPO, saying only that the company will continue to assess capital markets strategies based on market conditions and other factors.
Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and UBS declined to comment. CICC didn’t respond to a request seeking comment.
A Syngenta IPO would add to a busy start to the year in Hong Kong, building on a recovery in 2025, when listing proceeds were the highest since 2021.
Maiden share sales fetched about $5 billion last month, the highest total on record for a January, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The city hosted 13 listings, including artificial-intelligence chip designers, large-language-model developers and a snack retailer.
An increasing backlog of IPOs may lead to delays in some offerings. Hong Kong’s market regulator stepped up warnings to investment banks over filing sloppy applications for share sales. China’s securities regulator is also considering tightening the criteria for mainland companies to sell shares in city, after an offshore fundraising boom raised concerns over deal quality, people familiar with the matter have said.
Syngenta was holding preliminary talks with banks about an IPO in 2026 after withdrawing plans for a listing in mainland China, people familiar with the matter said in November.
Syngenta had filed for an IPO in Shanghai in 2021 but pulled its application in March 2024, citing volatile markets. The company, which is based in Switzerland but acquired by China National Chemical Corp. in 2017, said at the time it would look to restart the listing process in China or elsewhere when conditions suited.
Syngenta makes crop protection products including herbicides, insecticides and fungicides. It also develops crops such as corn, soybean, sunflowers, cereals and vegetable seeds. The company operates in more than 90 countries and employs over 30,000 people.
–With assistance from Dave Sebastian, Jan-Henrik Förster, Manuel Baigorri and Balazs Penz.
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