Ascletis Pharma saw heavy trading in Hong Kong and fell 8.98%.

According to reports, Ascletis Pharma announced that its controlling shareholder, JJW12 Limited, will conduct a top-up placement involving the sale of 52.4 million existing shares to no fewer than six placees, representing approximately 5.44% of the company’s current issued share capital. Simultaneously, JJW12 Limited will subscribe to 28.82 million new shares of the company, representing about 2.9% of the enlarged capital post-issuance, at a price of HK$16.45 per share, which represents a 9.9% discount to the closing price as of August 18. The placement is expected to raise approximately HK$468 million in net proceeds, roughly 90% of which will be used to fund clinical trials related to subcutaneous peptide and oral peptide candidates for obesity treatment, while the remaining 10% will be allocated for working capital and general corporate purposes.

Upon completion, JJW12 Limited's shareholding will decrease from approximately 53.38% to 49.45%, and the total shareholding of the controlling shareholders will drop from 62.21% to 58.03%.