Shenzhen, China 7/14/17—BGI Genomics, a genomics service company, has completed an IPO in China on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange’s Chi-Next Exchange. The IPO consisted of 40.1 million shares at CNY 13.64 ($2.01 at CNY 6.78 = $1)) per share. “This IPO is a historic day for BGI,” commented BGI Genomics CEO Yin Ye. “The capital raised will allow us to invest in the development of new services, top talent and lab infrastructure to benefit our global customers and to support our continued growth and innovation.”

The offering raised $250 million, according to China Money Network. In 2016, BGI revenues grew 30.8% to CNY 1.7 billion ($251 million). Net profit rose 28.7% to CNY 350 million (51.6 million). Nature reported that the company’s services business accounts account for the majority of revenues, with reproductive health screening representing 55% of total revenues. Other businesses include research-based sequencing and instrumentation. The company introduced a new version of its clinical sequencing systems last year (see IBO 12/31/16), and has gained Chinese FDA approval for it. According to a May article in Wired, BGI plans to increasingly use its own sequencers for its services.