‘A fighting chance’: Mirxes on why it chose Hong Kong over Singapore for its IPO

IN THE days after cancer diagnostics startup Mirxes announced it applied to Hong Kong’s stock exchange for an initial public offering (IPO), executives at the company were flooded with questions about why it hadn’t opted to list on the local bourse.

Mirxes has a long history with Singapore’s establishment. It started as a spinoff company from the government-owned Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star). Its backers include EDBI, the investment arm of Singapore’s Economic Development Board.

Mirxes deliberated for a long time between the two stock exchanges, its chief executive Dr Zhou Lihan said. In the end, it boiled down to which ecosystem could better support the company’s next stage of growth. Hong Kong offered a better valuation and a more savvy investor pool.