CATL – one of the world’s largest producers of batteries – currently supplies a number of automakers with those units, and will also license lithium-iron phosphate battery technology to Ford, which the automaker will use to build LFP batteries at the future BlueOval Battery Park Michigan site. Meanwhile, CATL continues to grow by leaps and bounds, even amid a general slowdown in EV demand, and now, it’s considering a second stock listing as a way to raise more funds to help with its expansion outside of the domestic Chinese market.
According to Automotive News China, CATL is currently talking to advisors about the possibility of creating a second stock listing in Hong Kong, which could raise $5 billion in funds – making it the second-largest such listing in that city since early 2021. If the deal ultimately goes through, it’s expected that the listing could happen as early as the first half of 2025. However, talks are still ongoing and plans could certainly change, especially since China’s securities regulators would have to approve such a listing before it could become a reality.
“$5 billion via a secondary listing will provide CATL dollar proceeds that help accelerate its overseas expansion,” said Jefferies Hong Kong analyst Johnson Wan. “I expect strong appetite from foreign long-only investors should it come list in Hong Kong.” Wan added that CATL could also issue convertible bonds in U.S. dollars as well. As Ford Authority reported yesterday, CATL is in the midst of rolling out thousands of EV battery swap stations, a major development in that particular segment.
Year to date, CATL shares have increased in value by 65 percent, giving the company a market value of $164 billion. However, the battery maker fell short of meeting its net income target in Q3 2024. Even though that figure actually increased by 26 percent to 13.1 billion yuan ($1.8 billion USD) year-over-year in the third quarter, net income was expected to reach 14.7 billion yuan ($2.06 billion USD). The same was true of revenue, which decreased by 12.5 percent to 92.3 billion yuan ($12.976 billion USD) year-over-year, compared to projections for 118.4 billion yuan ($16.646 billion USD).
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