Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL), the global leader in power battery installations, has confirmed its plans to go public in Hong Kong, which is expected to become the largest IPO in Hong Kong in recent years.
For CATL, which holds the top spot in global power battery installations, its secondary listing in Hong Kong is seen as an inevitable path.
The trillion-yuan lithium battery giant, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (300750.SZ), is set to go public in Hong Kong. On the evening of December 26, CATL announced that in order to further advance its global strategic layout, build an international capital operation platform, and enhance its comprehensive competitiveness, it plans to issue foreign shares listed overseas (H shares) and apply for listing on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
CATL stated that it will fully consider the interests of existing shareholders and the situation in domestic and foreign capital markets, and choose an appropriate timing and issuance window within the validity period of the shareholders’ meeting resolution to complete this issuance and listing. Earlier, there were rumors that CATL is considering a secondary listing in the Hong Kong market and may raise at least $5 billion. If this fundraising reaches $5 billion, it will become the largest IPO in the Hong Kong stock market since the listing of Kuaishou Technology in early 2021.
This issuance and listing still need to be submitted to the shareholders’ meeting for consideration and obtain approvals from relevant institutions such as the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission. People close to CATL said that listing in Hong Kong can provide an international platform for CATL’s overseas expansion, attract overseas funds and empower overseas expansion; deepen business cooperation by binding overseas industrial institutions through equity investments; and provide global investors with an attractive new energy investment target with valuation appeal.
CATL’s A-share stock price has performed strongly this year. The year-to-date increase has exceeded 60%, and the total market value has reached 1.2 trillion yuan, ranking among the top ten in terms of total market value of all listed companies in A-shares. The third-quarter report shows that in the first three quarters of 2024, CATL achieved operating income of 259 billion yuan, a year-on-year decline of 12.1%; realized net profit attributable to shareholders of 36.001 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 15.59%. Among them, the net profit attributable to shareholders in the third quarter was 13.136 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 25.97%; the gross profit margin in the third quarter was 31.2%, hitting a new high for a single quarter.
#01 Adoption of the议案 for listing in Hong Kong
As the global leader in power batteries, CATL has long had rumors of a secondary listing. In February 2023, there were rumors of a planned listing in Switzerland. In November 2023, there were rumors of a listing in Hong Kong, but CATL has not responded officially. In March 2024, CATL’s chairman, Zeng Yuqun, confirmed the secondary listing plan. At the same time, he said that the company has stable cash flow and will not be in a hurry to raise more funds and dilute the equity of existing shareholders.
On the evening of December 26, 2024, CATL announced that on that day, the company held the first meeting of the fourth session of the board of directors and the first meeting of the fourth session of the board of supervisors, and reviewed and passed the relevant议案 for the company’s planned issuance of H shares and listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
At the policy level, in October 2024, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange jointly released news announcing the optimization of the approval process for new listing applications. In November, the China Securities Regulatory Commission stated that it will keep overseas financing channels unobstructed and improve the efficiency of overseas listing filings. In mid-December, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange stated that it welcomes high-quality companies from the Chinese mainland and around the world to list in Hong Kong. Currently, there are about 90 listing applications waiting to be processed.
Many leading A-share listed companies have already planned for secondary listings in Hong Kong, including Hengrui Medicine and Haitian Flavor Industry. Since this year, leading companies with a market value of hundreds of billions, such as Midea Group and SF Holding, have been listed in Hong Kong. In the lithium battery industry chain, A-share lithium battery industry chain listed companies such as BYD, Ganfeng Lithium, Tianqi Lithium, and Longpan Technology have all successfully been listed in Hong Kong. At the same time, Gotion High
