The spotlight is on Sichuan's richest man, Zhu Yi, as his company, Sichuan Baili Tianheng Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., files for a main board listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. This move marks an official push for an "A+H" dual listing, aiming to raise fresh capital on top of its existing Shanghai listing.
The story of this nearly 130 billion yuan market cap company begins with its founder, Zhu Yi. Born in 1963 in Nanchong, Sichuan, he studied radio at Sichuan University before earning a master's degree in biology at Fudan University. After graduating, he taught microbiology and immunology at West China University of Medical Sciences.
Frustrated by the constraints of academic research in the 1990s, Zhu Yi left his teaching post. He initially worked in research at a provincial pharmaceutical company before venturing to Beihai, Guangxi, with just 300 yuan, where he made his first fortune in foreign trade and real estate. Despite his success, his passion remained in pharmaceuticals. In 1996, he returned to Wenjiang, Chengdu, to found Baili Pharmaceutical, later renamed Baili Tianheng.
The company started with generic drugs and traditional Chinese medicine. Its first major product, the ribavirin granule "Xinbolin," once held the top national market share in its category, establishing the company as a small leader in the generics sector in Southwest China. However, Zhu Yi did not settle. Convinced that "there are only two kinds of drugs in the world: innovative drugs and others," and that "generic drug profits will be razor-thin in the future," he pivoted the company towards innovative drugs in 2010, reinvesting nearly all profits from generics into R&D.
Unlike many peers who relied on venture capital and storytelling, Zhu Yi adopted an "old business supporting the new" model. He used revenue from mature operations to fund research and built a pipeline through an overseas platform. In 2014, he established SystImmune in Seattle, USA, initiating a decade-long research project on the anti-tumor ADC molecule BL-B01D1. During the innovation drug investment boom, Baili Tianheng remained relatively low-key, with only two external financing rounds before its 2023 IPO. In January 2023, it listed on the STAR Market (科创板) with an initial market cap of approximately 99 billion yuan, which was not particularly noteworthy among other innovative drug companies.
A turning point arrived less than six months after its STAR Market listing. At the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting, data on BL-B01D1 caused a sensation, attracting interest from eight of the top ten global pharmaceutical companies by market cap. For the following six months, SystImmune engaged in discussions with nearly every major player, including BMS (Bristol-Myers Squibb).
An unexpected deal materialized in December 2023. SystImmune signed an exclusive license and collaboration agreement with BMS to jointly develop the bispecific ADC drug BL-B01D1. The deal, valued at a then-record USD 8.4 billion for a single ADC drug, instantly catapulted the obscure STAR Market company into the global spotlight. The announcement triggered a market frenzy, with shares hitting the 20% daily limit and market cap surpassing 500 billion yuan.
Zhu Yi later credited China's multi-tiered capital market for enabling this success. The funds raised from the STAR Market listing allowed the company to expand the clinical sample size for BL-B01D1 to over 800 Chinese patients, a critical step for negotiating with multinational corporations.
The BD (business development) deal dramatically transformed Baili Tianheng's financial performance. In 2024, the company reported operating revenue of 5.823 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 936.31%, and a net profit attributable to shareholders of 3.708 billion yuan, turning a loss into a profit. By September 2025, its market cap had at one point exceeded 1,500 billion yuan, with the stock price surging over 15 times from its issue price of 24.70 yuan.
According to the prospectus, Zhu Yi directly holds about 72% of the total issued shares. As the stock price soared, his personal wealth grew accordingly. The 2026 Hurun Global Rich List ranked him as Sichuan's richest person for the second time, with a fortune of 98 billion yuan. However, Zhu Yi remains remarkably sober about the "richest man" title, describing it as "a false reputation from paper wealth."
His caution is understandable. The true, capital-intensive phase of developing innovative drugs begins in late-stage clinical trials. To fund global expansion, the company initiated an H-share listing in 2025, originally planned for November but postponed at the last moment. Now, with its core product, Yizekang (BL-B01D1), approved for market as the world's first bispecific ADC drug, Baili Tianheng is again pursuing a Hong Kong listing. The Sichuan billionaire may soon be ringing the bell for another IPO.
This listing push is part of a larger wave of A+H share listings. According to data from Zero2IPO Research Center, 24 A-share companies listed in Hong Kong in the first half of 2026, raising approximately 956.51 billion yuan, accounting for nearly 60% of total Hong Kong IPO fundraising during that period. In contrast, only 19 companies did so in the entire year of 2025. These A-share giants are absorbing a significant portion of the capital in the Hong Kong IPO market.
This wave is being led by hard-tech companies, replacing the consumer and traditional manufacturing sectors. CATL, the power battery giant, kicked off the trend in May 2025 with a landmark listing, briefly becoming the world's largest IPO that year. Three days later, pharmaceutical leader Hengrui Medicine also listed in Hong Kong. The momentum has intensified in 2026, with major A+H dual listings like Shenghong Technology, Muyuan Foods, and Dongpeng Beverage. Luxshare Precision, led by a female executive from Chaoshan, listed in July, followed by the optical module leader Zhongji Innolight, which created the largest Hong Kong IPO of the year.
The queue is long and growing. Moore Threads has announced preparations for an H-share listing, while companies like Jiang Bo Long and Ugreen are also waiting. With Eoptolink and Tianfutong planning Hong Kong listings, the A-share "Yi Zhong Tian" group of optical module leaders may soon reunite in Hong Kong. The reasons for this collective move are clear. As Chinese companies' factories, customers, R&D teams, and competitors become increasingly global, their capital platforms need to follow. Hong Kong serves as a crucial port connecting domestic industry with international capital, allowing companies to build factories in Europe, advance global clinical trials, or secure funding for next-generation AI models and robots.
However, the market is showing clear divergence. Top-tier hard-tech companies are in high demand, with offering sizes expanding. Conversely, companies lacking strong growth narratives face tepid subscriptions, reduced offering prices, or even withdrawals. Several recent A+H listings have fallen below their issue prices on their debut day, a reminder that the challenges are far from over.
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