(Yicai Global) March 13 -- Chinese companies listed in Hong Kong are hurrying to release statements to reassure investors that the collapse of US lender Silicon Valley Bank will have only a minor impact on their operations.

Meituan said on March 11 that the lifestyle platform has no deposits with SVB. Moreover, a spokesperson told the media that the screenshot allegedly showing Meituan’s Chief Executive Wang Xing speaking at an ‘SVB Depositor Rights Protection Group’ was fake.

The Beijing-based firm’s shares [HKG: 3690] rose 1.3 percent to close at HKD129 (USD16.44) apiece, after earlier climbing by as much as 3.1 percent.

SVB went bankrupt on March 10, becoming the largest US bank to fail since the financial crisis in 2008. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, a US government agency that insures bank deposits and oversees financial institutions, took control of the lender on the same day. The 16th largest bank in the United States, it had deposits in excess of USD170 billion at the end of last year.

Everest Medicines said yesterday the funds it deposited with SVB were less than 1 percent of its total cash, with about USD1 million uninsured. The Shanghai-based biopharmaceutical company [HKG: 1952] jumped 7.3 percent to end the day at HKD16.74 (USD2.13) a share, after plunging more than 10 percent on March 10.

Wealth manager Noah Holdings said it had deposited less than USD1 million, or 0.2 percent of its total assets, with SVB. There are no material risks that the lender’s bankruptcy will affect the company’s business operation or financial position, it added. Shares of the Shanghai-based firm [HKG: 6686] finished unchanged at HKD299.

Broncus Holding said it had about USD11.8 million deposited with SVB, accounting for about 6.5 percent of the healthcare equipment maker’s total cash, as of March 10. The Hangzhou-based company is actively working to withdraw the money. Its stock [HKG: 2216] rose 3.4 percent to close at HKD1.82 (23 US cents).

Brii Biosciences’ SVB deposits account for less than 9 percent of the total cash and bank balance of the company and its subsidiaries as of Feb. 28, the Beijing-based drugmaker announced. Brii Bio’s cash is sufficient to fund its working capital for the next three years, it added. The firm’s stock [HKG: 2137] fell 1.7 percent to HKD5.18.

CStone Pharmaceuticals has less than USD600,000 with SVB that is not covered by the FDIC, equal to as much as 0.5 percent of the company’s total cash flow. Shares of the Shanghai-based biopharmaceutical firm [HKG: 2616] dropped 2.2 percent to HKD3.62.

CANbridge Pharmaceuticals said SVB’s collapse will not impact its operation. The Beijing-based firm’s shares [HKG: 1228] finished unchanged at HKD2.15 each.

Soho China’s Chairman Pan Shiyi also said in a Weibo post yesterday that he had never opened an account or made a deposit with SVB.

Editor: Futura Costaglione