CATL announces a $5 billion share placement in Hong Kong.

      The world's largest electric vehicle battery manufacturer set its Hong Kong listing price at HK$263 in May 2025. Prior to the announcement of the placement, its shares peaked at HK$701.

      This transaction follows a week of notable shareholder activity: a unit of Sinopec sold $770 million worth of CATL stock at HK$708 on April 22; also completed that week was a block trade of 58 million A-shares in Shenzhen, which was oversubscribed by 1.1 times and offered at a 5.1% discount.

      CATL (Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd.), recognized as the largest manufacturer of EV batteries, aims to raise as much as $5 billion through a share placement in Hong Kong, with the bookbuilding phase now in progress and details being shared with investors.

      If the deal is finalized at its full scale, it would mark the largest new share sale in Hong Kong in nearly four years, since Kuaishou Technology acquired $6.2 billion in its initial public offering in 2021.

      CATL executed a secondary listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in May 2025, securing around $4.6 billion at HK$263 per share. Since then, its Hong Kong-listed shares have increased by about 160%, reaching a record high of HK$701 before placement news emerged on April 13.

      The current structure reflects a follow-on placement from CATL's balance sheet, with the company issuing new shares to institutional investors to raise capital, rather than an existing shareholder sale.

      Previously, CATL indicated in its regulatory disclosures that a large portion of the funds raised would be allocated towards building a €7.3 billion battery facility in Hungary, as part of its expansion in overseas manufacturing to cater to European automotive clients.

      Additionally, the company supplies to Tesla, Stellantis, BMW, Volkswagen, Xiaomi, and Nio. Its net income for FY2025 was 72.2 billion yuan ($10.6 billion), reflecting a 42.28% increase year-on-year, as reported in March. In the first quarter of 2025, net profit climbed 32.9% year-on-year to 14 billion yuan, the fastest growth rate seen in nearly two years.

      In the week leading up to the placement, there was significant shareholder activity. On April 22, Sinopec (Hong Kong) sold 8.5 million CATL shares listed in Hong Kong at HK$708 per share through an accelerated bookbuild arranged by Goldman Sachs, raising about $770 million.

      This price represented a 3.8% discount to CATL's closing value that day. Sinopec has committed to a 90-day lock-up period for its remaining shares in CATL. Separately, a block trade in Shenzhen involved 58 million A-shares (1.27% of CATL's total share capital) at CNY410.34 per share, which was a 5.1% discount to the closing price, and was distributed among 30 institutional investors bound by a six-month selling restriction.

      That transaction attracted bids from 50 institutions and was 1.1 times oversubscribed. This demand in the secondary market for CATL shares at modest discounts to the market price sets the context for CATL's current goal of raising $5 billion.

      The discount is a crucial pricing consideration for the deal. Reports indicate that investors are looking for a discount of at least 10% compared to CATL's shares listed in Shenzhen, whereas CATL is advocating for a mid-single-digit discount, as stated by Bloomberg and Reuters leading up to the launch. Shares in Hong Kong typically trade at a discount compared to those in Shenzhen, although CATL's Hong Kong shares have historically shown a smaller discount compared to similar listings.

      Midea Group, for example, set its own Hong Kong follow-on at about a 20% discount while raising $4 billion in September 2025. Five similar mainland-to-Hong Kong listings since 2022 have seen discounts ranging from 28% to 37%. Should CATL manage to price its shares at a mid-single-digit discount, it would be a significantly better result than what market precedents indicate is usual.

      For context, CATL's market standing is important. As of March 2026, it held a 45.54% share of China’s power battery installation market, down from 49.10% in February — still leading but indicating a gradual decline as competitors like BYD (with a 17.83% share) continue to narrow the gap.

      Internationally, CATL claimed a 38% share of the battery market in 2024, an increase from 36% in 2023, driven by growth in energy storage systems and diversification within the automotive sector. The EV market in China remains highly competitive: a recent Reuters analysis highlighted that maintaining profitability is challenging even for