2 weeks ago
5
HONG KONG -- Shares successful CATL, the world’s largest shaper of batteries for electrical vehicles, jumped much than 16% Tuesday successful its Hong Kong trading debut aft it raised astir $4.6 cardinal successful the world’s largest archetypal nationalist offering this year.
The coagulated reception for the Chinese company, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., successful Hong Kong suggests determination is inactive an appetite among planetary investors for starring Chinese manufacturers contempt commercialized tensions betwixt Beijing and Washington.
It sold much than 135 cardinal shares astatine their maximum connection price, 263 Hong Kong dollars ($33.6) each. Its shares roseate aft they started trading astatine 296 Hong Kong dollars ($37.80), 12.5% higher than their connection price. They closed 16.4% higher.
CATL besides has shares listed successful Shenzhen, a concern hub neighboring Hong Kong. They initially fell but past edged 1.2% higher.
A supplier to automakers similar Tesla, Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Ford, Toyota and Honda, CATL held a astir 38% planetary marketplace stock for EV batteries successful 2024, its listing documents showed.
The institution has faced unit from the U.S. In January, the U.S. Defense Department added it to a database of companies it says person ties to China’s military, an accusation that CATL denied. It called the inclusion a “mistake.”
In April, John Moolenaar, chairperson of the U.S. House Select Committee connected China, wrote to the CEOs of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America to request that the 2 American banks retreat from their enactment connected CATL's IPO. But the 2 banks stayed on.
In the U.S., Ford Motor Co. is licensing exertion from CATL to physique batteries, but the program faces absorption from immoderate Republican lawmakers, who person expressed concern that the Chinese institution could payment from U.S. taxation dollars.
Because the U.S. has listed CATL arsenic having ties to the U.S. military, the stock offering excluded onshore U.S. investors. However, galore ample U.S. organization investors person offshore accounts that allowed them to participate.
The institution said it plans to usage astir of the nett proceeds from its IPO to physique its mill successful Hungary, meant to bring it person to the manufacturing facilities of its main European customers.
Government officials, including Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary Paul Chan, attended its gong-striking ceremonial successful the city’s vibrant concern district, Central, connected Tuesday. The company's president Robin Zeng said his concern is committed to becoming a zero-carbon exertion company.
“Listing successful Hong Kong means we are much broadly integrated into the planetary superior markets, and it’s besides a caller starting constituent for america to beforehand the planetary zero-carbon economy,” Zeng said.
Zeng, who trained arsenic a physicist, helped recovered Amperex Technology Ltd. successful 1999. It chiefly was engaged successful probe and improvement and manufacturing of user lithium batteries. The institution was sold to Tokyo-listed TDK Corporation successful 2005, but Zeng continued to oversee the firm's absorption until 2017, its listing documents say.
In 2011, a squad led by Zeng founded CATL, headquartered successful the businessman's hometown of Ningde successful Fujian state successful southeast China. The literal meaning of the company's Chinese sanction is “Ningde Era."
CATL says it has the broadest sum of EV artillery users globally, with its batteries installed successful implicit 17 cardinal EVs, oregon 1 successful each 3 EVs worldwide, arsenic of the extremity of 2024.
Terence Chong, enforcement manager of the Lau Chor Tak Institute of Global Economics and Finance astatine the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said Hong Kong hasn’t seen an IPO of this size successful a portion and the listing whitethorn boost specified enactment successful the city.
The exclusion of U.S. investors had small interaction since determination was capable request for CATL's offering, helium said.
The magnitude of funds raised done IPOs successful Hong Kong roseate 89% year-on-year successful 2024 pursuing a double-digit alteration successful 2023, according to Yujia Li, an expert astatine the Hong Kong Financial Research Institute of the Bank of China.
CATL recorded a nett of 55.3 cardinal yuan ($7.6 billion) successful 2024, up 16.8% from 2023. Its listing surpassed JX Advanced Metals’ $2.9 cardinal IPO successful Japan successful March, which was antecedently the largest this year, according to Renaissance Capital, a supplier of pre-IPO probe and IPO-focused ETFs.
___
Associated Press writers Damian Troise successful New York and Didi Tang successful Washington contributed to this report.
English (US) ·