The world’s largest electric vehicle (EV) battery maker has seen its shares jump on their first day of trading in Hong Kong, as it made the biggest initial public offering (IPO) so far this year.
China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Limited (CATL) produces more than a third of all EV batteries sold worldwide and supplies major carmakers including Tesla, Volkswagen and Toyota.
The listing was closely watched as the US-China tariff war upended the global trading system and hit carmakers hard.
In January, the US Department of Defense added the battery maker to a list of businesses it says works with China’s military. CATL denies this, claiming its inclusion on the list was a “mistake”.
The company raised almost HK$35.7bn ( $4.55bn, £3.4bn) from the listing, with its shares jumping by more than 10%.
“The performance of the stock was very good in what is going to be a key IPO for Hong Kong given the size of the listing”, said Neil Beveridge, head of research for Asia at Bernstein.
CATL already trades on China’s Shenzhen Stock Exchange, where it has a valuation of more than 1tn yuan ($138.7bn, £104.3bn).
The firm is heavily reliant on the Chinese market, with the world’s second largest economy accounting for almost 70% of its total revenue.
Its relatively small sales to the US will ensure it is shielded from Trump’s trade policies, said Mr Bernstein.
“The direct implications of what we are seeing with tariffs will only have a limited effect on the company”, he told the BBC.
Founded in 2011 in the eastern Chinese city of Ningde, it enjoyed rapid growth thanks to the boom in the country’s EV industry.
The battery giant employs over 100,000 people and has 13 production plants around the world.
CATL is currently building its second European factory in Hungary, after opening a plant in Germany in early 2023.
In December, the firm announced a tie-up with Chrysler-owner Stellantis to build a $4.3bn (£3.2bn) EV battery plant in Spain. The facility is set to be in operation by the end of next year.
The firm invests heavily in new technology, with six research and development centres around the world.
“The innovations that we’re seeing from CATL are unbelievable, particularly in the fast charging area”, said Tim Buckley founder of the independent Australian think tank Climate Energy Finance.
Last month, the company unveiled a new battery that it said can be charged for 323 miles (520km) in just five minutes.
CATL is a major supplier to Elon Musk’s Tesla, providing lithium iron phosphate batteries for the EV makers Shanghai factory.
But US lawmakers have expressed concerns about potential national security risks surrounding the Chinese company.
In April, the chair of the House Select Committee on China wrote letters to the chief executives of JPMorgan and Bank of America, asking them to withdraw from working on CATL’s Hong Kong listing.
Despite scepticism about Chinese firms from Washington, Mr Buckley says the US should be looking to work with Beijing on the advancement of renewable energy.
“They’re rejecting by far the best technology players in the world when it comes to clean tech”, he told the BBC.
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