By Selena Li and Scott Murdoch
HONG KONG/SYDNEY (Reuters) -Chinese battery giant CATL plans to launch its Hong Kong listing next month, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said, in what is set to be the city’s largest share sale in four years amid rising uncertainties over global trade.
The bookbuilding for the deal, or the process to invite bids for the equity offering from investors, is expected to start the week of May 12, the sources said who declined to be identified discussing information that is not yet public.
Reuters has reported that the offering could raise at least $5 billion, citing people with knowledge of the matter,
CATL did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Chinese battery maker and its advisers will begin marketing the listing to prospective investors next week, one of the sources said, while the other source said the size and timing of CATL’s bookbuilding could change.
The listing, which would be a big test of investor confidence for issuances in Hong Kong amid heightened U.S.-China trade tensions, went to proceed despite a U.S. lawmaker urging two Wall Street banks to drop their role in the share sale.
John Moolenaar, who chairs the House Select Committee on China, said he sent letters to chief executives of two of the four underwriters for CATL – JPMorgan Chase & Co and Bank of America – two weeks ago, calling them pull out of the deal.
JP Morgan and Bank of American, and the other two underwriters CICC and China Securities Financial, didn’t respond to Reuters request for comment on Tuesday.
The battery giant’s listing would be the largest in Hong Kong since 2021, when Kuaishou Technology raised $6.2 billion in an initial public offering.
CATL has previously said in a regulatory filing that part of the funds raised will be used to build a 7.3 billion-euro ($7.53 billion) battery plant in Hungary.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was one of the best performing stock markets in the world before U.S President Donald Trump’s tariffs package in early April roiled global financial markets.
The index is down 4.4% in April but remains up 10.14% so far in 2025.
Despite escalating trade worries, the city’s initial public offering (IPO) and listings market had seen a resurgence in deals in the past two months, after a two-year slowdown.
There has been $2.7 billion worth of IPOs and listings so far in 2025, according to LSEG data, which is the best start to a year since 2021.
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd (HKEX), the city’s bourse operator on Wednesday posted a 37% jump in first quarter profit to record its best ever quarterly performance, helped by a sharp increase in securities trading and listing activities.
(Reporting by Selena Li in Hong Kong and Scott Murdoch in Sydney; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee, Saad Sayeed and Kim Coghill)
