[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] Korea Investment & Securities analyzed on the 19th that the risk has been resolved for L&C Bio as the remaining investment payment of $11 million from China International Capital Corporation (CICC) to the China joint venture (JV) established with CICC has been completed.

On the 16th, L&C Bio announced that CICC had additionally invested $11 million in the China JV. In June last year, L&C Bio decided to establish a joint venture with CICC in China. CICC had committed to a total investment of $20 million, having previously paid $9 million in the first round of investment, and this time made an additional payment of the remaining amount.

This investment was planned to be completed in the second quarter of this year but was delayed until recently. As a result, L&C Bio’s stock price also showed weakness.

Jung Songhoon, a researcher at Korea Investment & Securities, stated, “L&C Bio’s stock price had been declining over the past year due to controversy over the delayed capital payment from CICC, but with the recent completion of the payment, the delay issue has been resolved. The Kunshan plant of the China JV is currently 50% complete and aims to be finished by July next year. When converted to sales, the scale of the facility is approximately 700 billion KRW annually,” he analyzed.

The JV plans to start full-scale plant operations from 2023 and aims for a listing on the Chinese stock market thereafter. In line with the completion of the China plant, L&C Bio is also preparing for the Chinese launch approval of its main product, Megaderm Plus.

Additionally, the cosmetics CRO subsidiary, Global Medical Research Center, is also showing rapid growth. The cumulative sales of Global Medical Research Center for the third quarter of this year increased by 95% compared to the same period last year. Furthermore, as demand for cosmetics CRO certification is increasing in China, plans to enter the Chinese market are also underway.

Researcher Jung said, “In 2022, there will be events such as new product launches and clinical result announcements, and from 2023 onwards, sales from the China JV and the JV’s listing in China remain. We recommend continuous interest in L&C Bio, which is steadily growing domestically while expanding its China business for a quantum jump.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.