CATL Raises $5 Billion in HK Share Placement Priced at Low End

Attendees at the Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL) Tech Day in Beijing, China. Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg Photo by Qilai Shen /Bloomberg

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(Bloomberg) — Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd., the world’s biggest battery maker, has raised $5 billion after pricing a Hong Kong share placement at the bottom of a marketed range.

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The Chinese company sold the shares at HK$628.20 apiece, a 7% discount to its previous closing price, according to a filing Tuesday. It offered the shares at HK$628.20 to HK$651.80 each in a deal that marks the largest share offering yet this year in Hong Kong. More than 150 entities placed orders, including hedge funds, sovereign-wealth funds and existing shareholders, people familiar with the matter have said. The stock fell as much as 9.2% to HK$613.50 on Tuesday.

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The offering by CATL, as the company is known, adds to a busy period of deals in Hong Kong as tensions in the Middle East de-escalate. It brings the value of initial public offerings, placements and block trades in Hong Kong to $31 billion so far in 2026, a 73% jump year-on-year, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

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Propelled by surging demand for data center energy storage and higher oil prices, CATL’s Hong Kong shares have soared 139% since their debut, giving the company a market value of $288 billion. The Ningde, China-based firm listed in Hong Kong less than a year ago in a $5.3 billion deal that was the world’s second-largest last year. This time, CATL was selling the shares to global investors, including through a so-called 144A offering for investors in the US — which the firm didn’t pursue in its 2025 listing. 

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The discount in CATL’s latest offering was wider than the 5.1% in an inquiry-based sale by a shareholder earlier this month, which raised $3.6 billion in Shenzhen. A similar transaction in November had a 6.9% discount. A unit of Sinopec, China’s biggest oil refiner, last week raised HK$6 billion ($768.5 million) after selling CATL shares at a 3.8% discount.

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“Some investors do not see a strong need for CATL to raise additional financing overseas given their sizable balance sheet and rather see the company as being opportunistic,” said Eugene Hsiao, strategist at Macquarie Capital Ltd. The Sinopec deal “likely weakened the demand for the company’s primary issuance.”

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The placement may also help narrow the valuation premium on CATL’s Hong Kong-listed shares over its Shenzhen-listing as liquidity improves. The Hong Kong shares currently trade at about a 25% premium to the Shenzhen listing, down from a record high of roughly 49% in March, according to Bloomberg-compiled data. 

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CATL plans to use the proceeds for global capacity expansion, development of zero-carbon business footprint, research and development, working capital and other general corporate purposes. 

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China’s technology and battery stocks have been on a blistering rally, with the ChiNext Index up 89% over the past year and recently reaching an 11-year high. Some companies in the industry are riding the frenzy to strong share sales in Hong Kong, including sizzling debuts by companies such as Nvidia Corp. supplier Victory Giant Technology Huizhou Co., energy storage equipment maker Sigenergy Technology Co. and robotics software unicorn Manycore Tech Inc.

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Bank of America Corp., China International Capital Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley are joint bookrunners.

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—With assistance from Michael Hytha, Dominic Lau, Michael Patterson and Charlotte Yang.

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(Updates with background on Hong Kong deal volume in fourth paragraph)

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