At the end of last year, CATL officially announced its plan to list in Hong Kong. In February this year, CATL issued an announcement stating that it had submitted an application for the issuance of H-shares and listing on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

CATL emphasized that the funds raised from this Hong Kong stock listing will be primarily used for its overseas capacity expansion, international business development, and replenishment of overseas working capital, providing financial support for the company's long-term internationalization strategy.

"A stone stirs a thousand waves," recently, lithium battery industry chain enterprises in the mainland have frequently announced plans to go public in Hong Kong, and the "group" heading to Hong Kong is continuously expanding. From this, it can be seen that the mainland lithium battery industry chain enterprises are attempting to reach a broader group of international investors and enhance their recognition and brand value in the international market through "going public in Hong Kong IPO."

More than 10 lithium battery industry chain enterprises from the mainland "group up" to go for Hong Kong IPO

Recently, energy storage battery company Shuangdeng Group submitted a prospectus to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, planning to list on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, once again drawing attention from the industry. It is understood that for this IPO, Shuangdeng Group plans to use the funds raised for constructing a lithium-ion battery production facility in Southeast Asia; establishing a research and development center focusing on improving the lifespan of energy storage batteries, solid-state batteries, sodium-ion batteries, and BMS technology; strengthening overseas marketing, allocating operating capital, and other general corporate purposes.

From a global perspective, Shuangdeng Group's IPO in Hong Kong aims to advance the construction of its battery base in Southeast Asia, to meet the production capacity needs of its overseas customers.

Including CATL and Shuangdeng Group, according to Battery China, since the end of last year, there have been lithium battery companies such as Zenith New Energy and Hithium Energy Storage, as well as CNGR Advanced Material, GEM, Lead Intelligence, JA Solar Technology, Jiangsu Zhongrun Optoelectronics, Jinsheng New Energy, and Seger New Energy. Over 10 lithium battery industry chain enterprises in mainland China plan to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Zhengli New Energy updated its prospectus for the Hong Kong Stock Exchange at the beginning of this year and received a notice of filing for listing in Hong Kong in late February. It is understood that Zhengli New Energy's products cover multiple areas including power batteries, energy storage batteries, and aviation batteries. According to the prospectus data, in the first eight months of 2024, Zhengli New Energy achieved a revenue of 2.858 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 33.6%; the gross profit margin also improved, with the gross profit reaching 354 million yuan in the first eight months of 2024. Data from other institutions show that, during the same period, by installed capacity of power batteries, it ranked among the top ten in China's power battery market, lithium iron phosphate power battery market, and ternary power battery market.

In terms of products, the launched "Qilong Battery", combining semi-solid technology and large cylindrical form, has an energy density of 306Wh/kg and can be fast-charged from 10% to 70% in 9 minutes; in terms of energy storage, the 314Ah large-capacity energy storage cell launched by Zhengli New Energy has entered the large power station and industrial user markets, achieving a revenue of 139 million yuan in the first 8 months of 2024.

It is worth mentioning that Lead Intelligent, which has the reputation of "the world's largest market share in lithium battery equipment," also submitted an application for the public offering of H-shares and listing on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in February this year. It is understood that the funds raised from Lead Intelligent's IPO in Hong Kong will be used for the construction of its German R&D center and Wuxi manufacturing base, strengthening its layout in cutting-edge fields such as solid-state batteries.

Pioneer Intelligence stated that the listing in Hong Kong is to meet the company's global development needs in the field of new energy intelligent equipment, to further advance the company's global strategic layout, to build an international capital operation platform, to further enhance the company's global brand awareness and comprehensive competitiveness, and to consolidate its industry position.

In addition, energy storage battery company Hithium Energy also reported in December last year that it is expected to go public in Hong Kong as early as 2025. Lithium battery material companies such as CNGR Advanced Material and GEM, battery recycling company Jinsen New Energy, and energy storage company Seger New Energy, among others, have all been密集递表或筹备港股IPO，锂电产业链企业掀起一波赴港上市热潮。 密集递表或筹备港股IPO，锂电产业链企业掀起一波赴港上市热潮。 frequently submitting applications or preparing for HKEX IPOs, sparking a wave of lithium battery industry chain companies rushing to list in Hong Kong.

Globalization strategy driven, Hong Kong has become a "critical stepping stone"

It is understood that since 2024, the "A+H shares" model has been continuously encouraged by policies. Compared to other exchanges, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange shows unique advantages in terms of language, trading systems, compliance costs, and secondary market research reports. Mainland lithium battery industry chain enterprises choosing to list in Hong Kong can not only quickly obtain financial support but also bring many conveniences for the expansion of their overseas business.

From the aforementioned lithium battery companies planning to list in Hong Kong, there are both enterprises that have chosen to IPO on the Hong Kong stock exchange, such as Shuangdeng Group, Zenith New Energy, Hicham Energy Storage, Jinsen New Energy, etc., and companies already listed on the A-share market, preparing for a dual "A+H" listing, such as CATL, Zhongwei Co., Ltd., GEM, Lead Intelligence, etc.

Lithium battery companies generally feedback that listing on the Hong Kong stock market offers higher openness and inclusiveness to enterprises. As A-share IPOs tighten and conditions become stricter, listing on the Hong Kong stock market has become quite attractive for companies that cannot list on A-shares for the time being. It not only provides a possible route for opening up financing channels and escaping current predicaments but also ensures the flexibility of listing on A-shares in the future.

On the other hand, lithium battery industry chain enterprises expanding overseas business need foreign exchange, and listing on the Hong Kong stock market can directly raise US dollars/euros, which is conducive to avoiding exchange rate risks. Therefore, listing in Hong Kong has become an important stepping stone for lithium battery industry chain enterprises to achieve a global layout. Taking CATL as an example, it plans to use the funds from its Hong Kong IPO for the construction of its project in Hungary, which will build a power battery production line with an annual capacity of 100GWh, to enhance its production capacity in overseas markets such as the EU.

Pioneer Intelligence has also clearly stated that going public in Hong Kong is to meet the company's needs for global development in the field of new energy intelligent equipment. Battery China noticed that since the beginning of this year, Pioneer Intelligence has won multiple orders in the overseas market. In mid-January alone, it signed a backend equipment order with a top lithium battery customer in Europe, which will help the customer build a complete backend solution. Upon completion, the total production capacity will reach 8GWh.

Some insiders pointed out, "Hong Kong stocks are the closest international financing platform to the mainland. Introducing international long-term investors is conducive to optimizing the shareholder structure and is very beneficial for enhancing global brand recognition."

It is worth mentioning that domestic leading lithium battery companies, such as CALB and Reptile Rhythm, have listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2022 and 2023, respectively. With the current new wave of listings in Hong Kong, more lithium industry chain enterprises are expected to turn to the Hong Kong stock market in the future, potentially changing the global competitive landscape of the lithium battery industry.