Chinese electric vehicle (EV) battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) made its highly anticipated debut at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) on Tuesday, opening 12.55 percent higher at 296 Hong Kong dollars (about 37.81 U.S. dollars) on its first trading day.
Trading under the stock code 3750, CATL raised 4.6 billion U.S. dollars, one of the largest IPOs on HKEX in recent years and the biggest globally so far this year.
CATL's Hong Kong listing attracted a diverse range of investors from 15 countries and regions, including sovereign wealth funds, industrial investors, and long-term institutional investors. The listing process was completed in just 128 days.
As of the end of 2024, CATL operated six global research and development centers and 13 battery production bases, with service networks spanning 64 countries and regions.
The company's profitability has grown consistently, with profits reaching 33.5 billion yuan (about 4.64 billion U.S. dollars), 47.3 billion yuan, and 55.3 billion yuan in 2022, 2023, and 2024, respectively.
Chinese battery giant surges in Hong Kong debut
Russia reported on Tuesday that its forces hit several Ukrainian military targets, took control of a settlement in the Kharkov region in the past 24 hours, while Ukraine on the same day claimed to have downed over 1,000 Russian drones.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said in its daily report that over the past day, Russian forces had launched a large-scale attack on Ukrainian military industrial enterprises producing various types of missiles and components, as well as military airfields, using long-range air-based and land-based high-precision weapons and drones. All designated facilities were hit. Moreover, the Russian air defense systems shot down 10 guided-missile bombs and 259 fixed-wing drones.
On the same day, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that Ukrainian forces engaged in a total of 168 battles with Russia in the past day, with Ukrainian forces striking Russian personnel and equipment concentration areas, drone control points, and command and observation posts, shooting down 1,023 drones.
In addition, the Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence reported on Tuesday that its unmanned systems forces destroyed a Russian Zircon hypersonic missile launcher and two missiles of the same type in Crimea that day.
The Ukrainian air force reported on Tuesday that the Russian army launched one of the largest drone attacks since the start of the conflict. On that day alone, the Russian army deployed over 550 drones to carry out the attack. Furthermore, from 18:00 on Monday, to 18:00 on Tuesday, the Russian army had already used nearly 1,000 drones of various models to strike Ukrainian targets.
Russia claims hitting military targets, Ukraine reports downing Russian drones
