Chinese battery giant surges in Hong Kong debut

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

The United States' oil embargo against Venezuela threatens millions of Venezuelans' lives, health and well-being and must be condemned as a violation of international law, Russian Ambassador to Venezuela Sergey Melik-Bagdasarov said in Caracas on Friday.

Speaking after a meeting with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil, Melik-Bagdasarov emphasized that oil is like the "blood" of Venezuela's economy, and "draining the blood of the Venezuelan economy" means endangering its people's lives and health.

He said that Venezuela has consistently expressed its willingness to sell oil at fair market prices to all foreign trading partners, including the United States. However, Washington's neocolonialist and command-and-control approach clearly is impeding the normalization of supplies to the global market.

Melik-Bagdasarov said that during the meeting, he and Foreign Minister Gil discussed bilateral relations and ways to further develop cooperation, reiterating Russia's support for the Venezuelan government and its people.

Russian ambassador slams illegal US oil embargo on Venezuela