Tesla Rumored to Participate in Tianqi Lithium’s IPO Subscription

Chinese lithium miner Tianqi Lithium, which is already listed publicly in Shenzhen, stated in a June 3 announcement that its application for a Hong Kong listing has been approved by the China Securities Regulatory Commission. Subsequently, rumors have emerged that Tesla will participate in the IPO subscription of the company. In response, Tesla replied to local media outlet National Business Daily on June 10, saying that the situation is “unclear, no response yet.”

Tianqi Lithium said that no more than 425 million shares will be issued in Hong Kong this time, with a par value of 1 yuan ($0.15), all in ordinary shares. After this issuance is completed, Tianqi Lithium can be listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx), making it a publicly-traded firm in both Shenzhen and Hong Kong, known as A+H company.

Zou Jun, CFO of Tianqi Lithium, said: “Tianqi Lithium’s listing in Hong Kong is very important for optimizing the financial structure of the company. According to our Hong Kong IPO plan, the asset-liability ratio can be further reduced, laying the foundation for our next capacity expansion plan. In the long run, building an overseas financing platform is significant for the company’s internationalization strategy.”

Tianqi Lithium is a global new energy materials company, with lithium at its core, integrating upstream lithium resources reserve and development and midstream lithium chemical products processing. At present, the company’s products are mainly divided into lithium concentrates and lithium compounds and their derivatives. As of the end of last year, Tianqi Lithium had a total capacity of 1.34 million tons per year of lithium concentrate and 44,800 tons of lithium compounds and derivatives.

SEE ALSO: BYD in Talks to Buy Six Lithium Mines in Africa

In order to stabilize cost increases caused by the rising lithium price, many downstream car manufacturers have begun to lay out their own upstream lithium resources. For example, this March, Shenzhen Chengxin Lithium Group Co., Ltd. announced that the company planned to introduce BYD as its strategic investor through private placement, raising no more than 3 billion yuan. After the issuance, BYD’s stake in the company is expected to exceed 5%. EV makers such as NIO, Li Auto and XPeng Motors also jointly invested in battery manufacturer Sunwoda this February.