Singapore-based biotech firm Chitose Bio Evolution has announced the issuance of new shares of JPY 1 billion ($6.2 million) through a third-party allotment to Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC).
Chitose Bio Evolution said in a recent statement that SMBC has been supporting the business growth of CHITOSE Group as a bank for a long time.
Moreover, since September 2023, SMBC has strengthened its support by joining MATSURI, the project to build a microalgae-based industry to replace the petroleum industry.
According to the statement, the funds raised will be used for developing various bio-products using microorganisms and cells and expanding their production capacity.
Additionally, the funds will strengthen the organization in preparation for an initial public offering (IPO) on NASDAQ, planned for 2027.
It is noted that Chitose Laboratory Corp. (CHITOSE) was selected by New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization’s (NEDO) Green Innovation Fund in March 2023 as the implementing agency of an research and development (R&D) project with a budget of JPY 58 billion ($364.3 million).
SMBC is participating in this project as a collaborating institution.
To support CHITOSE’s business growth, Chitose Bio Evolution strengthened its financial base by raising a total of JPY 3.1 billion ($19.4 million) through a third-party allotment of new shares last year.
With this investment from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, CHITOSE Group will continue to lead the bioeconomy, which is expected to reach a market size of $30 trillion by 2032.
Due to growing expectations for its efforts toward decarbonization and our activities to simultaneously promote sustainable manufacturing, Chitose Bio Evolution has raised a total of JPY 4.1 billion ($25.7 million), including the capital increase in September 2023, far exceeding its initial target.
The firm said it will continue fundraising activities and aim to raise a total of over JPY 15 billion ($94.2 million) by 2025.
“In order to create a new industry called bioeconomy, we need not only the world’s cutting-edge technological capabilities, that CHITOSE Group has cultivated since its founding, but also financial capabilities.
“This investment has been made utilizing SMBC Group’s ‘Social Value Creation Investment Fund’,” said Tomohiro Fujita, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of CHITOSE Group.
“We are honored to have been chosen as one of the partners by the SMBC Group, which is advancing initiatives for creating social value through its support for building the bioeconomy industry,
”We have also received words of expectation from the SMBC Group’s executive members, which further strengthens our resolve,” he added.
South Korea’s S&S Lab partners Singapore’s FVC to support biotech and foodtech startups