CATL initiates listing on Hong Kong stock exchange

Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) has filed for a secondary listing in Hong Kong, which could be the city’s largest initial public offering (IPO) in years.

The world’s leading battery maker is expected to raise at least $5 billion to support its international expansion. Earlier assessments were even more daring, projecting the company could raise up to $8 billion. 

Part of the raised funds will be used for building a manufacturing facility in Hungary. Announced in 2022, CATL’s 100 GWh battery plant in Debrecan is the biggest greenfield investment in Hungary’s history and comes with a price tag of EUR 7.3 billion ($7.6 billion).

“To date, we have completed the initial preparations for the aforementioned project in Hungary and have commenced the construction. As of December 31, 2024, we had invested approximately EUR 0.7 billion. The total investment for Phase I and II of the project in Hungary is approximately EUR 4.9 billion, and the remaining funds will be invested successively in the future to complete the construction as planned,” CATL wrote in the filing.

If successful, CATL’s listing initiated on February 11 could become the largest for the Hong Kong stock market in four years, since Kuaishou Technology’s $6.2 billion IPO.

According to CATL’s filing, the Bank of America, China International Capital Corporation, China Securities International and JPMorgan Chase are joint sponsors for the listing. The company also appointed Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and UBS to work on the deal.

In the filing, CATL made mention of its inclusion in Washington’s list of companies with ties to Chinese military. The battery maker said that the designation was a mistake and that it is proactively working with the U.S. Defence Department to address this. It said the designation only stopped it from doing business with a small number of US government authorities.

CATL was listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2018 and has a market capitalisation of around $150 billion. The company has been the world’s largest supplier of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage applications for eight consecutive years.

Last month, CATL released its 2024 earnings guidance, projecting total revenue of CNY 356-366 billion, marking a year-on-year decline of 8.71-11.2%. However, net profit attributable to shareholders is expected to reach CNY 49-53 billion, reflecting a growth of 11-20%.