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Business Mayor
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- Business Mayor
Shares in China's CATL jump over 18% in Hong Kong debut as battery maker rides EV boom
Shares of CATL debut in Hong Kong on May 20, 2025. Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images Shares of the world's largest battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology rose over 18% in their Hong Kong trading debut on Tuesday, as investors bet on the company's ability to ride the boom in electronic vehicles. Shares were last trading at 308 Hong Kong dollars apiece on the Hong Kong stock exchange, compared with the initial public offering price of HK$263 dollars per share. CATL IPO raised HK$35.7 billion ($4.6 billion) according to a company filing, reportedly making it the largest global listing in 2025. CATL shares, which had opened lower on mainland China's Shenzhen stock exchange, reversed course to rise 1.5% to 264 Chinese yuan. 'I think that as the H [Hong Kong] shares continue to perform strongly, that will pull up the A [mainland China] shares,' Neil Beveridge, senior research analyst at Bernstein, told CNBC's 'The China Connection.' 'For the H shares to be trading above the A shares just shows how exceptional the demand is for this company, particularly from global investors,' he added. CATL said in its Hong Kong filing that 90% of the funds raised will go toward building its upcoming factory in Hungary, aimed at supplying batteries to European automotive clients including Stellantis , BMW and Volkswagen . 'Europe is an exceptionally important market for CATL,' said Beveridge, adding that the company's growth in China was going to slow over the coming years due to already high sales penetration. 'Europe's only at about 20-25% [sales] penetration, so there's still a lot of growth there to come,' he added. The company's push into Europe coincided with global expansions from leading Chinese EV makers such as BYD. These efforts also come amid increased scrutiny from the U.S. and EU, which placed punitive tariffs on EVs made in China last year, citing unfair trade practices. CATL found itself in the crosshairs of U.S.-China trade earlier this year, with the Pentagon putting it on a watchlist in January over suspected links to China's military — allegations the company has rejected. According to Bill Russo, founder and CEO of investment advisory firm Automobility, the watchlist designation, coupled with Trump's latest tariffs on China, may complicate the company's U.S.-related business. However, the impact on its global ambitions will likely be limited unless broader multilateral restrictions follow, as CATL's core strategy remains focused on markets such as Europe and emerging regions, he said. Weekly analysis and insights from Asia's largest economy in your inbox Subscribe now In March, CATL posted a 9.7% drop in its 2024 annual revenue, hit by intense competition in China's electric-vehicle market that pressured the world's top battery producer. Still, the company's net profit went up by 15% year over year. Demand for electric vehicles in China, a critical market for CATL, gained momentum last year on the back of a combination of subsidies and consumer purchase incentives. EV sales in China surged to 11 million in 2024 — a 40% increase compared to the previous year, data from U.K. research firm Rho Motion showed. 'We're a big believer and investor in CATL in our global EV strategy. It's just phenomenal, it's a 'must own company,' in my opinion, along with BYD for investors in the space,' said Brendan Ahern, chief investment officer at KraneShares. Bank of America, China International Capital Corporation, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanely, JPMorgan Chase were the joint lead mangers for the Hong Kong offering. Speaking on CNBC's Squawk Box Asia on Tuesday, Andy Maynard, managing director and head of equities at China Renaissance, said that the CATL's IPO shows that investors still look to China to find quality plays despite recent trade tensions between Beijing and Washington. Correction: This story was revised to accurately reflect the jump in shares at market open.
Business Mayor
25-04-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
Trump signs order to boost deep-sea mining, seeking to break China's critical minerals dominance
Critical minerals such as cobalt, nickel, copper and manganese can be found in potato-sized nodules at the bottom of the seafloor. Pallava Bagla | Corbis News | Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump has signed a sweeping executive order to jump-start the controversial practice of deep-sea mining, seeking to offset China's dominant position in critical mineral supply chains. The administration is seeking to fast-track the pursuit of strategically important minerals such as nickel, copper and rare earth elements from the seabed in U.S. and international waters. 'The United States has a core national security and economic interest in maintaining leadership in deep sea science and technology and seabed mineral resources,' Trump said in the executive order Thursday. The unilateral action is intended 'to counter China's growing influence over seabed mineral resources,' strengthen partnerships with allies and ensure U.S. firms are 'well positioned' to support those interested in developing seabed minerals responsibly. The order, which critics say contradicts global efforts to adopt regulation, directs the Trump administration to expedite mining permits under the Deep Seabed Hard Minerals Act of 1980. It also seeks to establish a process for issuing permits along the U.S. outer continental shelf and, notably, calls for the expedited review of seabed mining permits 'in areas beyond national jurisdiction.' What is deep-sea mining? The practice of deep-sea mining involves using heavy machinery to remove minerals and metals from the seabed, where they build up into potato-sized nodules. The end-use of these minerals are wide-ranging and include electric vehicle batteries, wind turbines and solar panels. Advocates of the practice say deep-sea mining could be a highly lucrative industry that ultimately reduces the reliance of large mining operations on land. Scientists, however, warn that the full environmental impacts of deep-sea mining are hard to predict. Environmental campaign groups say the practice cannot be done sustainably and will lead to ecosystem destruction and species extinction. Environmental activists calling for an international moratorium on deep-sea mining. Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images 'We condemn this administration's attempt to launch this destructive industry on the high seas in the Pacific by bypassing the United Nations process,' Greenpeace USA's Arlo Hemphill said on Friday. 'This is an insult to multilateralism and a slap in the face to all the countries and millions of people around the world who oppose this dangerous industry,' Hemphill said in a statement. The International Seabed Authority (ISA), a little-known U.N. regulator that oversees deep-sea mining, has for years been seeking to resolve deep-sea mining's murky future before any mining activity begins. It is considering standards to regulate the exploitation and extraction of polymetallic nodules and other deposits on the ocean floor. Negotiators have been trying to ensure formal rules are in place by the end of 2025 — leading critics of Trump's executive order to question its timing. The ISA was established under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), a treaty which the U.S. has not ratified. The agency is responsible for both the exploitation and conservation of an area that covers around 54% of the world's oceans. ISA Secretary-General Leticia Carvalho told CNBC last year that it remains feasible ISA member states can agree on some form of regulation by the end of 2025. Read More Do You Hate to Write? Try These Tech Tools May Help Unexpected country alliances 'This alignment of the private sector with the U.S. administration could escalate global geopolitical tensions over critical minerals and control of international waters,' analysts at Eurasia Group said in a research note published Thursday. 'U.S. dismissal of UN processes will probably lead to unexpected country alliances in opposition,' they added. Gerard Barron, chairman and CEO of The Metals Company, hopes that his company will be able to mine the seafloor for nickel, cobalt, manganese in the Pacific Ocean. Carolyn Cole | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images For instance, actions taken by the U.S. and Canada-based deep-sea mining exploration firm The Metals Company have been criticized by more than 40 countries, including China, Russia and Britain, among others. 'Norway, which had previously considered seabed mining within its national waters, has now aligned with China, India, and Poland — countries typically more supportive of streamlining approval processes for industrial-scale deep sea mining — to oppose U.S. actions,' analysts at Eurasia Group said. 'The concern centers on the U.S. abruptly bypassing previously agreed processes on deep-sea mining,' they added.
Buzz Feed
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Buzz Feed
37 Powerful Photos From Yesterday's Anti-Trump Protests That Will Haunt The United States Forever
Hot Topic 🔥 Full coverage and conversation on Politics Yesterday, a mass anti-Trump movement took place across the United States. 1. The movement was referred to as "50501," meaning 50 protests in all 50 states on one single day. 2. According to the Build the Resistance website, which serves as a hub for 50501, the protests were a "rapid response to the anti-democratic, destructive, and, in many cases, illegal actions being undertaken by the Trump administration and the plutocrats he has aligned with." 3. Signs from the protests illustrated how US residents feel about Trump increasingly shifting the richest men in the world into his inner circle and the government... 4. ...billionaire Elon Musk's now-infamous salute... 5. ...policies against trans rights... 6. ...the president's highly controversial cabinet picks... 7. ...Trump's decision to scrap a policy that prevented ICE agents from entering sensitive locations such as churches, hospitals, and schools... 8. ...the US's involvement in the Israel-Hamas war... 9. ...Trump issuing about 1,500 pardons for Jan. 6 participants, including those who attacked police officers... 10. ... dangerous anti-science rhetoric... 11. ...and so much more. 12. Many signs depicted both Trump and Musk with Hitler-style mustaches... 13. ...or called to deport Musk from the US altogether. 14. 'I'm appalled by democracy's changes in the last, well, specifically two weeks — but it started a long time ago,' one protester told AP outside the Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio. 'So I'm just trying to put a presence into resistance.' 15. As a part of this resistance, calls against fascism rang throughout the crowds. 16. Citizens appear to fear a loss of their freedom of speech. 17. And they appear to see their movement as a way to fight back against Nazi ideology. 18. There were many... 19. ...many anti-Nazi signs. 20. Others expressed concern over Musk, who has never been elected to a government office... 21. ... gaining access to federal data. 22. As well as Trump's initial moves in office largely mirroring the plans in Project 2025, which the president had previously distanced himself from during the campaign cycle. 23. Now, younger generations... 24. ...and older generations... 25. ...of different backgrounds are stepping up to the plate to make their voices heard. 26. And the messages are loud. 27. Signs say they want Trump to keep his "tiny hands off our gov't." 28. They call Trump "a thug." 29. And declare that "real Americans take care of each other." Anadolu / Anadolu via Getty Images 30. When asked how they felt about the 50501 protests, someone who didn't attend said, "Everyone has the right to protest and should if they choose to." Sopa Images / SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images 31. "Everyone has the right to peaceful protest under the first amendment. ✌️" another added. Sopa Images / SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images 32. And in response to those who say protesting doesn't change anything, one person wrote, "It's a start. I came of age 1965-1975 and it took HUNDREDS of protests, some of them 200,000 people to effect change. It's probably too soon right now, but things are moving fast." Sopa Images / SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images 33. Time will tell how this movement affects the administration's actions moving forward. Medianews Group / MediaNews Group via Getty Images 34. But seeing grassroots action and Americans rally in all 50 states... Drew Angerer / AFP via Getty Images 35. ...against one president... Bloomberg / Bloomberg via Getty Images 36. ...is undeniably... Erik Mcgregor / LightRocket via Getty Images 37. ...historical. Jim Watson / AFP via Getty Images What are your thoughts on the protests? Let us know in the comments.
