CATL — the world's largest electric-vehicle battery maker — will raise $5bn in Hong Kong by selling 62.4mn additional shares at HK$626.92 (US$80) each, a roughly 10 per cent discount to the average closing price over the prior five trading days. The Chinese group's stock has surged 40 per cent since the US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February, as investors bet that an oil shock will accelerate demand for EVs and renewable energy.
The follow-on placement will increase CATL's Hong Kong float by 40 per cent. Hong Kong-listed shares fell 8 per cent on Tuesday and the mainland shares lost 1.4 per cent. CATL has been listed in Shenzhen since 2018 and added a Hong Kong line last year, raising more than $5bn in 2025's second-biggest share sale, but the H-share pool still represented only 3.7 per cent of total listed shares before this deal. Because foreign investors strongly prefer the H shares — and supply is scarce — they trade at a premium to the mainland A shares, an unusual setup for a Chinese company. Bernstein analyst Brian Ho called the timing "very opportunistic".
CATL says proceeds will fund R&D and "the construction of global new energy projects". The group already runs battery plants in Hungary and Germany and is building one in Spain with Stellantis; cash raised in Hong Kong can be deployed globally without China's strict capital controls. CLSA's Horace Tse questioned the rationale "given that they have cash on hand". Source: Financial Times, 28 April 2026, William Sandlund.