China's CATL Raises 10 Trillion Won to Counter LG and SK Offensive

CATL's R&D Center
Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] China’s largest automobile battery manufacturer CATL (Ningde Shidai) is conducting a large-scale paid-in capital increase and expanding production capacity. This move is interpreted as an effort to get ahead in competition with South Korea’s LG Energy Solution and SK Innovation, and Japan’s Panasonic.

According to the Wall Street Journal, CATL announced on the 13th (local time) that it plans to raise up to 58.2 billion yuan (approximately 10.5 trillion won) through the paid-in capital increase.

The paid-in capital increase will be allocated to up to 35 major investors including asset management companies, insurance companies, and other financial institutions.

CATL is the world’s largest lithium-ion battery company and has rapidly grown by supplying batteries to various electric vehicle manufacturers including Tesla, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Nio.

The stock price has also risen 160% since last year, bringing the market capitalization to $180 billion (approximately 210 trillion won).

A major foreign media outlet explained that CATL’s market capitalization surpassed Tesla and Toyota within 10 years of its establishment, and is even larger than the combined market capitalization of competitors LG Chem and Panasonic.

Most of the raised funds will be used to expand battery production at factories located in Fujian Province, Guangdong Province, and Jiangsu Province in China, with some invested in research and development (R&D).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.