Latest news with #Fujian-based
Business Times
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- Business Times
CATL rises in Hong Kong trading debut in world's top listing in 2025
[HONG KONG] Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Limited (CATL) rose in its Hong Kong trading debut after the Chinese battery giant wrapped up the world's biggest listing this year by raising HK$35.7 billion (S$5.9 billion) despite being blacklisted by the Pentagon and grinding through geopolitical storms. Shares of CATL, as the largest maker of electric vehicle (EV) batteries is known, opened at HK$296 each on Tuesday (May 20), up 13 per cent from their listing price of HK$263. Strong demand had allowed the company to price the stock at the top marketed price, and the shares rose in grey-market trading on Monday. For investors, the allure of buying into a blue-chip stock at the forefront of EV technology outweighed the risks of getting caught up in the ongoing turbulence in Sino-US relations. The success of the stock offering, which may increase to US$5.3 billion if CATL exercises an option to do so, single-handedly doubled Hong Kong's proceeds from listings this year and could embolden other companies to go public. CATL is 'a true champion enabling the energy transition, a symbol of China's success as a global green leader', said Karine Hirn, a partner at East Capital Group. 'This will be met by enormous interest.' Priced at around 17 times current earnings multiples, CATL's Hong Kong shares have room to rise 50 per cent, driven by strong earnings and attractive valuations, said Johnson Wan, the head of China industrials research at Jefferies in Hong Kong. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up 'There is only a small slice of pie left for everyone else to buy,' he said. 'It's a no-brainer buy.' CATL supplies batteries to top-tier customers such as Tesla, Volkswagen, Ford Motor and Mercedes-Benz Group. It has a market share of roughly 38 per cent in electric-car batteries, comfortably ahead of its closest challenger, top EV maker BYD's 17 per cent, according to SNE Research. The Ningde, Fujian-based company generated sales of US$50 billion and net income of US$7 billion last year. And it plans to build on that, recently unveiling batteries that can charge 520 km of range in five minutes and up to 1,500 km on a full charge. The funding, much of it for a US$7.6 billion overseas expansion in Europe, will be used to fuel its growth outside China, where profit margins are juicier. Its continued growth has enriched its founders, top investors and executives, making them some of the wealthiest people in the world. Four Chinese businessmen, including chairman Robin Zeng, have amassed a combined fortune of more than US$73 billion – mainly derived from their stakes in the company – according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. CATL's rise has not come without obstacles. The company was put on a Pentagon blacklist in January based on allegations of CATL's links to the Chinese military – something the company has denied repeatedly. In April, a US congressional committee publicly called on JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America to stop working on the listing because of CATL's alleged military links – again, denied by the company. But both American banks stuck with the deal. The Chinese company's management has said CATL expects 'little impact' from the risk of US tariffs. That stands in stark contrast to a growing list of automakers from Toyota Motor to Stellantis and General Motors warning of billions in extra costs. CATL priced its Hong Kong stock at a smaller discount to its Shenzhen-traded shares, when compared with previous second listings: Appliance maker Midea Group last year sold its stock in its US$4.6 billion Hong Kong listing at a discount of about 20 per cent, while China Tourism Group Duty Freedid so at around 27.5 per cent in 2022. More broadly, Hong Kong shares typically trade at a 25 per cent discount to their stocks on the mainland, according to the Hang Seng Stock Connect China AH Premium Index. 'People like the fact that now you can get access to one of the best companies in China without having to go to A-shares,' said Eugene Hsiao, head of China equity strategy and China Autos at Macquarie Capital. 'I think this is why they did not have to come out with massive discounts. They knew the demand was there.' CATL will be the latest firm to go ahead with a share sale after US President Donald Trump's broad tariff rollout. Even before the latest 90-day pause on many of the tariffs, many Chinese companies had gone ahead with their listing plans as they sought cash from investors. CATL's share offering will help Hong Kong's market for listings this year surge to over US$22 billion, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. BLOOMBERG
Business Times
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- Business Times
CATL rises in Hong Kong trading debut after world's top listing in 2025
[HONG KONG] Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Limited (CATL) rose in its Hong Kong trading debut after the Chinese battery giant wrapped up the world's biggest listing this year by raising HK$35.7 billion (S$5.9 billion) despite being blacklisted by the Pentagon and grinding through geopolitical storms. Shares of CATL, as the largest maker of electric vehicle (EV) batteries is known, opened at HK$296 each oon Tuesday (May 20), up 13 per cent from their listing price of HK$263. Strong demand had allowed the company to price the stock at the top marketed price, and the shares rose in grey-market trading on Monday. For investors, the allure of buying into a blue-chip stock at the forefront of EV technology outweighed the risks of getting caught up in the ongoing turbulence in Sino-US relations. The success of the stock offering, which may increase to US$5.3 billion if CATL exercises an option to do so, single-handedly doubled Hong Kong's proceeds from listings this year and could embolden other companies to go public. CATL is 'a true champion enabling the energy transition, a symbol of China's success as a global green leader', said Karine Hirn, a partner at East Capital Group. 'This will be met by enormous interest.' Priced at around 17 times current earnings multiples, CATL's Hong Kong shares have room to rise 50 per cent, driven by strong earnings and attractive valuations, said Johnson Wan, head of China industrials research at Jefferies in Hong Kong. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up 'There is only a small slice of pie left for everyone else to buy,' said Wan. 'It's a no-brainer buy.' CATL supplies batteries to top-tier customers such as Tesla, Volkswagen, Ford Motor and Mercedes-Benz Group. It has a market share of roughly 38 per cent in electric-car batteries, comfortably ahead of its closest challenger, top EV maker BYD's 17 per cent, according to SNE Research. The Ningde, Fujian-based company generated sales of US$50 billion and net income of US$7 billion last year. And it plans to build on that – recently unveiling batteries that can charge 520 km of range in five minutes and up to 1,500 km on a full charge. The funding, much of it for a US$7.6 billion overseas expansion in Europe, will be used to fuel its growth outside China, where profit margins are juicier. Its continued growth has enriched its founders, top investors and executives, making them some of the wealthiest people in the world. Four Chinese businessmen, including chairman Robin Zeng, have amassed a combined fortune of more than US$73 billion – mainly derived from their stakes in the company – according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. CATL's rise has not come without obstacles. The company was put on a Pentagon blacklist in January based on allegations of CATL's links to the Chinese military – something the company has denied repeatedly. In April, a US congressional committee publicly called on JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America to stop working on the listing because of CATL's alleged military links – again, denied by the company. But both American banks stuck with the deal. The Chinese company's management has said CATL expects 'little impact' from the risk of US tariffs. That stands in stark contrast to a growing list of automakers from Toyota Motor Corp. to Stellantis NV and General Motors warning of billions in extra costs. CATL priced its Hong Kong stock at a smaller discount to its Shenzhen-traded shares, when compared with previous second listings: Appliance maker Midea Group last year sold its stock in its US$4.6 billion Hong Kong listing at a discount of about 20 per cent, while China Tourism Group Duty Freedid so at around 27.5 per cent in 2022. More broadly, Hong Kong shares typically trade at a 25 per cent discount to their stocks on the mainland, according to the Hang Seng Stock Connect China AH Premium Index. 'People like the fact that now you can get access to one of the best companies in China without having to go to A-shares,' said Eugene Hsiao, head of China equity strategy and China Autos at Macquarie Capital. 'I think this is why they did not have to come out with massive discounts. They knew the demand was there.' CATL will be the latest firm to go ahead with a share sale after US President Donald Trump's broad tariff rollout. Even before the latest 90-day pause on many of the tariffs, many Chinese companies had gone ahead with their listing plans as they sought cash from investors. CATL's share offering will help Hong Kong's market for listings this year surge to over US$22 billion, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. BLOOMBERG
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
CATL Rises in HK Trading Debut After World's Top Listing in 2025
(Bloomberg) -- Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. rose in its Hong Kong trading debut after the Chinese battery giant wrapped up the world's biggest listing this year by raising HK$35.7 billion ($4.6 billion) despite being blacklisted by the Pentagon and grinding through geopolitical storms. America, 'Nation of Porches' NJ Transit Train Engineers Strike, Disrupting Travel to NYC NYC Commuters Brace for Chaos as NJ Transit Strike Looms NJ Transit Makes Deal With Engineers, Ending Three-Day Strike Shares of CATL, as the largest maker of electric-vehicle batteries is known, opened at HK$296 each on Tuesday, up 13% from their listing price of HK$263. Strong demand had allowed the company to price the stock at the top marketed price, and the shares rose in gray-market trading on Monday. For investors, the allure of buying into a blue-chip stock at the forefront of electric-vehicle technology outweighed the risks of getting caught up in the ongoing turbulence in Sino-US relations. The success of the stock offering, which may increase to $5.3 billion if CATL exercises an option to do so, single-handedly doubled Hong Kong's proceeds from listings this year and could embolden other companies to go public. CATL is 'a true champion enabling the energy transition, a symbol of China's success as a global green leader,' said Karine Hirn, a partner at East Capital Group. 'This will be met by enormous interest.' Priced at around 17 times current earnings multiples, CATL's Hong Kong shares have room to rise 50%, driven by strong earnings and attractive valuations, said Johnson Wan, head of China industrials research at Jefferies in Hong Kong. 'There is only a small slice of pie left for everyone else to buy,' said Wan. 'It's a no-brainer buy.' CATL supplies batteries to top-tier customers such as Tesla Inc., Volkswagen AG, Ford Motor Co. and Mercedes-Benz Group AG. It has a market share of roughly 38% in electric-car batteries, comfortably ahead of its closest challenger, top EV maker BYD Co.'s 17%, according to SNE Research. The Ningde, Fujian-based company generated sales of $50 billion and net income of $7 billion last year. And it plans to build on that — recently unveiling batteries that can charge 520km (323 miles) of range in 5 minutes and up to 1,500km on a full charge. The funding, much of it for a $7.6 billion overseas expansion in Europe, will be used to fuel its growth outside China, where profit margins are juicier. Its continued growth has enriched its founders, top investors and executives, making them some of the wealthiest people in the world. Four Chinese businessmen, including Chairman Robin Zeng, have amassed a combined fortune of more than $73 billion — mainly derived from their stakes in the company — according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. CATL's rise hasn't come without obstacles. The company was put on a Pentagon blacklist in January based on allegations of CATL's links to the Chinese military — something the company has denied repeatedly. In April, a US congressional committee publicly called on JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp. to stop working on the listing because of CATL's alleged military links — again, denied by the company. But both American banks stuck with the deal. The Chinese company's management has said CATL expects 'little impact' from the risk of US tariffs. That stands in stark contrast to a growing list of automakers from Toyota Motor Corp. to Stellantis NV and General Motors Co. warning of billions in extra costs. CATL priced its Hong Kong stock at a smaller discount to its Shenzhen-traded shares, when compared with previous second listings: Appliance maker Midea Group Co. last year sold its stock in its $4.6 billion Hong Kong listing at a discount of about 20%, while China Tourism Group Duty Free Corp. did so at around 27.5% in 2022. More broadly, Hong Kong shares typically trade at a 25% discount to their stocks on the mainland, according to the Hang Seng Stock Connect China AH Premium Index. 'People like the fact that now you can get access to one of the best companies in China without having to go to A-shares,' said Eugene Hsiao, head of China equity strategy and China Autos at Macquarie Capital. 'I think this is why they didn't have to come out with massive discounts. They knew the demand was there.' CATL will be the latest firm to go ahead with a share sale after US President Donald Trump's broad tariff rollout. Even before the latest 90-day pause on many of the tariffs, many Chinese companies had gone ahead with their listing plans as they sought cash from investors. CATL's share offering will help Hong Kong's market for listings this year surge to over $22 billion, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. --With assistance from Danny Lee, Filipe Pacheco, Dave Sebastian and Kevin Dharmawan. Why Apple Still Hasn't Cracked AI Anthropic Is Trying to Win the AI Race Without Losing Its Soul Microsoft's CEO on How AI Will Remake Every Company, Including His Cartoon Network's Last Gasp DeepSeek's 'Tech Madman' Founder Is Threatening US Dominance in AI Race ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
CATL major stock sale to fund new manufacturing footprint in Europe
Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. has started taking investor orders for a Hong Kong stock offering that is likely to be the world's biggest listing this year. CATL, as the Chinese electric-vehicle battery giant is known, is seeking to raise as much as HK$41 billion ($5.3 billion), according to its listing document on April 12. That's if the deal is upsized. After the sale, CATL plans to use much of the proceeds for its ongoing international expansion in Europe, especially for a big factory in Hungary to supply top clients like Mercedes-Benz. That may help the company widen its lead in the industry, where it has a a market share of roughly 38 percent, comfortably ahead of its closest challenger, top EV maker BYD Co.'s 17 percent, according to SNE Research. Under a first phase, the Hungary factory, in which it is investing 2.7 billion euros ($3.03 billion), is set to start producing batteries this year. CATL aims to begin construction on the second phase later this year. The company has received enough investor interest for its Hong Kong share sale early on the first day the deal was launched on May 12, according to people familiar with the matter. The Fujian-based company is marketing shares at a maximum price of HK$263 each, or 1.4 percent lower than the close on May 9 in Shenzhen but roughly equivalent to the close on May 8. Pricing could be decided as soon as Tuesday and the stock is expected to begin trading May 20. The share offering would more than double proceeds in Hong Kong's market for listings this year, which Bloomberg Intelligence predicts will surge to more than $22 billion. The bonanza's been driven by Chinese companies going ahead with their listing plans in the Asian financial hub despite the turmoil brought on by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, which have caused many deals to be postponed in America and Europe. CATL is offering about 118 million shares in the base offering, which could increase to around 136 million if the company upsizes the deal by 15 percent. With a greenshoe option, the company would be selling nearly 156 million shares. Cornerstone investors, which agree to hold shares from the deal for at least six months, have committed to buy about $2.6 billion worth of stock, according to the prospectus. They include Chinese state-owned oil company Sinopec, the Kuwait Investment Authority and alternative-asset manager Hillhouse Investment. CATL said it was doing the deal in the form of a so-called Regulation S offering, which doesn't allow sales to U.S. onshore investors and exempts the issuer from certain U.S. regulatory filing obligations, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report. The limitations on certain types of U.S. investors indicates that US-China tensions may be spilling into the landscape for stocks and initial public offerings. The company also received a waiver from the Hong Kong exchange on the need to carry out a clawback mechanism, which would have required it to allocate more shares to retail investors if demand were high enough, according to the prospectus. The waiver allows for institutional investors to maintain a larger proportion of shares allocated for the Hong Kong listing. The deal hasn't come without hurdles. The company was put on a Pentagon blacklist in January based on allegations of CATL's links to the Chinese military — something the company has denied repeatedly. The heat has spread to even some of the banks arranging the deal. In April, a U.S. congressional committee publicly called on JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp. to stop working on the listing because of CATL's alleged military links — again, denied by the company. But both American banks stuck with the deal. Reuters contributed to this report. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
The Star
13-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
CATL starts taking investor orders for world's biggest listing this year
Hong Kong: Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd has started taking investor orders for a Hong Kong stock offering that is likely to be the world's biggest listing this year. CATL, as the Chinese electric-vehicle battery giant is known, is seeking to raise as much as HK$41bil or about US$5.3bil, according to its listing document yesterday. That's if the deal is upsized and the greenshoe exercised on top of the base offering of up to HK$31bil. The greenshoe option, also known as an over-allotment option, is a clause in an initial public offering underwriting agreement that allows underwriters to sell more shares than initially planned if demand exceeds expectations. This is typically used to help stabilise the stock price by allowing underwriters to purchase additional shares from the company or the market at the offering price. The primary goal is to provide stability and liquidity for the stock price, especially in the early days of trading. The Fujian-based company is marketing shares at a maximum price of HK$263 each, or 1.4% lower than last Friday's close in Shenzhen but roughly equivalent to last Thursday's. Pricing could be decided soon and the stock is expected to begin trading May 20. The shares rose as much as 3.4% in Shenzhen trading, outperforming the benchmark index. CATL is offering about 118 million shares in the base offering, which could increase to around 136 million if the company upsizes the deal by 15%. With the greenshoe option, the company would be selling nearly 156 million shares. Cornerstone investors, which agree to hold shares from the deal for at least six months, have committed to buy about US$2.6bil worth of stock, according to the prospectus. They include Chinese state-owned oil company Sinopec, the Kuwait Investment Authority and alternative-asset manager Hillhouse Investment. CATL said it was doing the deal in the form of a so-called Regulation S offering, which doesn't allow sales to US onshore investors and exempts the issuer from certain US regulatory filing obligations, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report. The limitations on certain types of US investors indicates that US-China tensions may be spilling into the new-listings landscape. The company also received a waiver from the Hong Kong exchange on the need to carry out a clawback mechanism, which would have required it to allocate more shares to retail investors if demand were high enough, according to the prospectus. The waiver allows for institutional investors to maintain a larger proportion of shares allocated for the Hong Kong listing. The share offering would more than double proceeds in Hong Kong's market for listings this year, which Bloomberg Intelligence predicts will surge to more than US$22bil. The bonanza's been driven by Chinese companies going ahead with their listing plans in the Asian financial hub despite the turmoil brought on by US President Donald Trump's tariffs, which have caused many deals to be postponed in America and Europe. The deal hasn't come without hurdles. The company was put on a Pentagon blacklist in January based on allegations of CATL's links to the Chinese military – something the company has denied repeatedly. The heat has spread to even some of the banks arranging the deal. In April, a US congressional committee publicly called on JPMorgan Chase & Co and Bank of America Corp to stop working on the listing because of CATL's alleged military links – again, denied by the company. But both American banks stuck with the deal. After the sale, CATL plans to use much of the proceeds for its ongoing international expansion in Europe, especially for a big factory in Hungary to supply top clients like Mercedes-Benz. That may help the company widen its lead in the industry, where it has a a market share of roughly 38%, comfortably ahead of its closest challenger, top electric vehicle maker BYD Co's 17%, according to SNE Research. As for Hong Kong, the deals keep on rolling. Chinese cancer drugmaker Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co is also gearing up for a big listing this month, people familiar with the matter have said. The Shanghai-listed company plans to issue up to 815 million shares in Hong Kong Besides JPMorgan and Bank of America, joint sponsors of CATL's offering include China International Capital Corp and China Securities International. Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Morgan Stanley and UBS Group AG are also arranging the deal. CATL said it would pay the underwriters a fixed fee of 0.2% of the deal, including shares to be issued if the offering gets upsized and the greenshoe option is exercised. The banks may also receive a 0.6% incentive fee. — Bloomberg
