中國電池制造商欲借上市加快擴(kuò)張

CATL, China’s fastest growing lithium battery maker, is planning to raise $2bn from an initial public offering to help fund its expansion as it attempts to become the world’s largest supplier of batteries for electric vehicles.

中國成長最快的鋰電池制造商寧德時代新能源科技股份有限公司(CATL)正在計劃從首次公開發(fā)行(IPO)募集20億美元，為其擴(kuò)大規(guī)模提供資金。該公司的目標(biāo)是成為全球最大的電動車電池供應(yīng)商。

The offering comes as a handful of mostly East Asian companies angle for top positions in the battery industry, and as China — already the world’s largest EV market — seeks to increase the number of electric vehicles in the country.

該公司籌備上市之際，以東亞企業(yè)為主的一些公司正在爭奪電池行業(yè)頭把交椅。已經(jīng)是全球最大電動車市場的中國正致力于增加國內(nèi)電動車保有量。

In recent months, subsidies for electric cars have helped boost the valuation of Hong Kong-listed BYD, CATL’s main rival for the position of China’s top battery producer by output.

最近幾個月，對電動車的補(bǔ)貼幫助提高了在香港上市的比亞迪(BYD)的估值，后者是CATL爭奪中國頭號電池生產(chǎn)商地位的主要對手。

CATL said in its prospectus it was hoping to raise Rmb13.12bn ($1.98bn) by selling a 10 per cent stake on the Shenzhen stock exchange, suggesting a valuation of about $20bn.

CATL在招股說明書中表示，希望通過在深圳證券交易所發(fā)售10%的股份，籌集131.2億元人民幣(合19.8億美元)，這意味著該公司估值將達(dá)到約200億美元。

Its valuation would be smaller than BYD’s $27bn, following a share price climb of about 50 per cent in just over two months to HK$71.5 on Tuesday.

CATL的估值將低于比亞迪的270億美元——后者的股價在兩個多月里攀升約50%，周二達(dá)到71.5港元。

“The [electric vehicle] market has made these battery companies hot these days,” said Dan Zhuang, an analyst at RHB OSK Securities in Hong Kong. “We have not yet seen a clear winner emerge in China.”

“(電動車)市場如今讓這些電池公司變得炙手可熱，”香港興業(yè)僑豐證券(RHB OSK Securities)分析師Dan Zhuang表示，“我們還看不出誰是中國明顯的勝出者。”

CATL said it would use capital raised from the offering to add 24GWh of battery making capacity in its home province of Fujian, and invest in research and development. That would represent a significant expansion for CATL, which had 7.6GWh of capacity last year, according to Goldman Sachs.

CATL表示，將利用此次發(fā)行募集的資金，在其總部所在的福建省增加24吉瓦時(GWh)的電池產(chǎn)能，并投資于研發(fā)活動。這將成為CATL的一次重大擴(kuò)張，高盛(Goldman Sachs)的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，該公司的去年的電池產(chǎn)能為7.6GWh。

By comparison, Tesla has said its gigafactory in the Nevada desert will reach a capacity of 35GWh next year, although the US company is known for missing deadlines.

相比之下，特斯拉(Tesla)曾表示，其在內(nèi)華達(dá)州沙漠的“超級工廠”(Gigafactory)明年將達(dá)到35GWh的產(chǎn)能，盡管這家美國公司在錯過最后期限方面是出了名的。

“They [CATL] have the potential to become the world champion. They are already accepted by global players,” said Junyi Zhang of NIO Capital, a venture fund focused on electric vehicles.

“他們(CATL)有潛力成為世界冠軍。他們已經(jīng)被全球參與者接受，”專注于電動車的風(fēng)投基金蔚來資本(NIO Capital)的張君毅表示。

Backed by government policies, ranging from subsidies for electric vehicles to restrictions on foreign rivals — China’s battery companies are beginning to dominate an industry that has been led for three decades by South Korean and Japanese manufacturers such as Panasonic, which makes the battery cells for Tesla cars.

在政府政策——從補(bǔ)貼電動車到限制外國競爭對手——的支持下，中國的電池企業(yè)正開始主導(dǎo)這個由韓日制造商(比如為特斯拉制造電池的松下(Panasonic))引領(lǐng)了30年的行業(yè)。

CATL has been at the centre of Beijing’s efforts to establish China as the leading country in the global EV supply chain. It has received at least Rmb880m in government subsidies in recent years, according to the prospectus.

北京方面正致力于將中國打造為全球電動車供應(yīng)鏈中的領(lǐng)先國家，CATL一直處于這一努力的中心。招股說明書顯示，CATL近年來至少獲得了8.8億元人民幣的政府補(bǔ)貼。

The company sold 6.80GWh of batteries last year, and has supply arrangements with Volkswagen and BMW, it said. CATL made profits of Rmb2.3bn on revenue of Rmb6.1bn in the first half of this year, according to the prospectus.

該公司表示，去年售出了6.80GWh的電池，并與大眾(Volkswagen)和寶馬(BMW)達(dá)成了供貨安排。根據(jù)招股說明書，今年上半年，CATL的營收為61億元人民幣，利潤23億元人民幣。

But with the impact of subsidies now fading, companies such as CATL “need to enlarge their volume to keep such a high profit margin”, according to Mr Zhang.

但張君毅表示，隨著補(bǔ)貼優(yōu)勢日益消失，CATL等企業(yè)“需要擴(kuò)大產(chǎn)能，以保持如此高的利潤率”。

China Securities, Goldman Sachs and Industrial Securities are underwriters for the IPO. The listing is expected to take place within months, according to a person familiar with the situation.

中信建投證券(China Securities)、高盛和興業(yè)證券(Industrial Securities)是此次IPO的承銷商。知情人士透露，此次上市預(yù)計將在幾個月內(nèi)實現(xiàn)。