(Yicai Global) May 19 -- Syngenta Group has decided to withdraw its application for an initial public offering on the Star Market, the science and technology innovation board of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the Swiss agrichemicals and seeds giant said.

The wholly owned unit of Chinese conglomerate Sinochem will instead file to join the bourse’s main board, it said in a statement posted on its website yesterday.

Syngenta said that as a global leader in agricultural technology, the company would be more suited to the main board under the registration-based IPO system. It will also enable the firm to reach more investors, benefiting its long-term value.

The Shanghai Stock Exchange took note of the change in listing destination on its official WeChat account the same day.

Since China extended registration-based IPOs to all of its stock markets in February, the multi-layered capital market system has been further improved, with clearer orientation for each stock market venue, the SSE added.

The bourse fully respects companies’ independent choice of preferred listing venue, and supports the listing of large agricultural tech firms, it added.

The SSE also pointed out that after Syngenta submits its application to list on the main board, work will proceed in a smooth and orderly manner based on previous reviews.

Syngenta first announced its intention to file for a Star Market IPO in June 2021. The status of that application has been changed to “terminated” on the bourse’s website after the firm’s listing hearing, scheduled for March 29, was cancelled.

Syngenta planned to raise CNY65 billion (USD9.4 billion) by selling as many as 2.79 billion shares, making it the Chinese mainland’s fourth-largest IPO ever.

Registered in Shanghai in 2019, Syngenta Group mainly consists of Basel-based Syngenta, Adama, and Sinochem Group’s agricultural business.

Editors: Liao Shumin, Peter Thomas