CATL Shares Surge on Hong Kong Debut After $4.55B IPO

China's top EV battery maker, CATL, surged on its Hong Kong debut after the year's biggest IPO. Big Market Debut for an EV Battery Giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Limited (CATL), the world's largest maker of electric vehicle batteries, opened its trade on the Hong Kong stock market, and it was a blockbuster opening! The shares surged by 18%, as the company raised HK$35.7 billion (about US$4.55 billion) in its initial public offering (IPO) — the largest IPO so far in 2025. CATL is already listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, and its market capitalization is more than 1 trillion RMB (nearly $138.7 billion). The company provides batteries to leading global carmakers, including Tesla, Volkswagen and Toyota.

Global Trade Tensions notwithstanding

The offering occurred against a backdrop of continued trade tensions between the US and China that had rattled the auto industry. In January, the U.S. Department of Defense named CATL as a business it believed to be associated with China's military. CATL rejected the assertion as a "mistake."

Analysts say despite fears among some U.S. lawmakers, CATL's relatively small presence in the U.S. means it is unlikely to be significantly affected by U.S. trade policies. Almost 70% of CATL's revenue is generated in China.

CATL's listing had been "very strong" and was "certainly one of the key IPOs" for Hong Kong given its size and market response, said Neil Beveridge of Bernstein Research.

Expansion Addition and Innovation Generate Growth

CATL, which was founded in 2011 in the Chinese city of Ningde and has expanded quickly on the back of China's EV boom. The company now has more than 100,000 employees and 13 production facilities around the world.

It is also growing in Europe — CATL opened a factory in Germany in 2023 and is constructing another in Hungary. The company is also collaborating with the automaker Stellantis to open a $4.3 billion battery plant in Spain, where production is expected to begin by the end of 2026.

As an innovative company, CATL has 6 R&D centers globally. Last month, the company announced a new battery capable of providing 323 miles (520 km) of range with only five minutes of charging.

While CATL is a significant supplier for Tesla's factory in Shanghai, some US officials have expressed security concerns. Even so, advocates including Tim Buckley of Climate Energy Finance believe the US should partner with China in developing clean energy technologies.

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