Celltrion companies soar after founder says Celltrion Holdings will list on Nasdaq

Celltrion companies are trading strong on early Tuesday morning as its founder and Chairman Seo Jung-jin said that the drugmaker’s holdings company, Celltrion Holdings, decided to list on Nasdaq.

Celltrion founder and Chairman Seo Jung-jin speaks during the Future Leaders' Camp event hosted by the Federation of Korean Industries on Sunday in Gangneung, Gangwon. [FKI]

Celltrion companies are trading strong on early Tuesday morning as its founder and Chairman Seo Jung-jin said that the drugmaker’s holdings company, Celltrion Holdings, decided to list on Nasdaq.

Celltrion rose 2.29 percent from the previous trading day on the main Kospi bourse at 9:05 a.m., right after the market opening, and traded at 190,300 won ($143), up 1.17 percent, as of 9:35 a.m.

Celltrion Pharm soared 5.37 percent right after the market opening and is trading at 109,900 won, up 3.68 percent.

KoBioLabs, a Kosdaq-listed biotech company collaborating with Celltrion on microbiome drug development, spiked 8.63 percent to 13,090 won.

The rally follows Seo’s comment on Sunday that Celltrion Holdings will go public on the Nasdaq bourse in a speech during a business talk concert session.

“I have ordered the relevant divisions to list Celltrion Holdings Celltrion Holdings on the Nasdaq as early as the end of the year, and early next year at the latest,” Seo reportedly said.

During the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference held the previous week, the chairman officially confirmed that Celltrion Holdings, in which Seo has a 98.5 percent stake, will go public.

Seo further said that Celltrion will raise up to 100 trillion won to establish a healthcare fund, leveraging the 5 trillion won that the initial public offering of Celltrion Holdings is estimated to bring in, as well as additional funding from investors.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]