Chinese biotech company WuXi AppTec Co. dived Monday after shareholders unveiled plans to sell up to 65 million shares.
Shares hit their 10% daily downside limit in Shanghai, while those in Hong Kong were 9.1% lower.
The selloff came after WuXi AppTec, one of China’s largest biotech companies, said late Friday that a group of shareholders controlled by and acting in concert with the company’s de facto controller plans to dispose of an up to 2.2% stake. The selling shareholders currently hold a combined 24.07% stake.
WuXi said the disposal, expected from December, is due to the shareholders’ own capital needs.
In June, the same group of shareholders said they will sell an up to 3% stake, sending WuXi’s Shanghai-listed shares tumbling 9.6% in one day. Its Hong Kong stock plummeted 11% in the session following the disposal plans.
WuXi’s shares have lost 48% and 37% in Hong Kong and Shanghai, respectively, so far this year. But the stock has regained some ground in recent weeks. Before Monday’s drop, its Hong Kong shares were 23% higher in November, while the Shanghai-listed stock rose 7.3% in the same period.