Lijun International (01355.HK) Transition to Biotech Sector Draws Market Attention

Lijun International (01355.HK) is a Hong Kong-listed company whose original business scope included hotels, resorts, and luxury cruises [2]. On December 23, 2024, the company announced the acquisition of a 37.5% stake in Beisheng Biology (a synthetic biology infrastructure provider) for HK$22 million, and plans to change its name to “Biosystems Engineering Limited” to align with its future business development direction [1][2][3][4].
As synthetic biology is a popular field in the current market, the change in the company’s business direction has become the main catalyst for its entry into Hong Kong’s hot stock list. As of December 24, 2024, the company’s stock price performance was -14.89% year-to-date and -9.77% over one month [2]. Although specific price data for December 25 is lacking, market attention to its transformation made it a hot stock on that day.

1. Strategic Significance of Business Transformation
   : The company’s shift from the traditional hotel and resort sector to biotech/synthetic biology reflects its attempt to layout in a popular market track, which may bring new opportunities for future business growth.
2. Drivers of Market Sentiment
   : As an emerging technology field, synthetic biology has high market attention, and the company’s name change further strengthens the market’s awareness of its transformation, thereby attracting investors’ attention.
3. Contrast Between Historical Performance and Current Attention
   : Although the company’s stock price has performed poorly historically, news of its business transformation still put it on the hot list, showing the market’s short-term positive response to the company’s strategic adjustment.

• Entering the popular synthetic biology field is expected to boost market valuation by leveraging the industry’s development momentum.
• Business transformation may attract investors focused on the biotech sector, increasing stock liquidity.

• The company has poor historical stock price performance, with a 14.89% drop year-to-date [2], and the market still has doubts about the effectiveness of its transformation.
• The scale of this acquisition is small (HK$22 million), so its actual impact on the company’s overall business may be limited.
• There is a record of major shareholders reducing their stakes on December 15, 2024 [5], which may affect market confidence.

Lijun International (01355.HK) has achieved a business transformation from the hotel and resort sector to the biosystems engineering field through the acquisition of equity in a synthetic biology company and a name change. This strategic adjustment made it a Hong Kong hot stock, reflecting market attention to the synthetic biology field. Investors need to comprehensively consider factors such as its historical stock price performance, acquisition scale, and major shareholder reductions to objectively evaluate its transformation prospects and investment risks.