The collapse of the Californian bank has exposed the financial ties between U.S. finance and Chinese start-ups.
Silicon Valley Bank offices in Arizona, March 12, 2023. Credit: Megan Mendoza/The Republic via USA TODAY
When tech-sector focused Silicon Valley Bank collapsed last week, among those left in the lurch were several prominent Chinese startups that had come to rely on the bank as a connector between the U.S. and their domestic financial system.
Since SVB’s sudden downfall, a flurry of Chinese businesses mostly focused on biotech — including Jacobio Pharmaceuticals, BeiGene and Andon Health — have disclosed that they had deposits in the bank. Brii Biosciences, a Beijing-based developer of therapies for infectious diseases, announced that it had “less than 9 percent of its total cash and bank balances” in SVB.
No Chinese businesses have disclosed that they expect a negative impact — especially after the U.S.’s Federal Deposit Insurance Corp decided on Sunday that it would ensure that all SVB depositors were made whole — they will still have to find a new bank to keep their cash safe. SVB had become popular among Chinese companies, particularly those with internation
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