SYDNEY/BEIJING/SHANGHAI (March 26): Chinese battery giant CATL said it had received approval from China's securities regulator for a share sale in Hong Kong that sources have said could raise at least US$5 billion (RM22.12 billion), the largest listing in the city for four years.

The Shenzhen-listed firm plans to issue not more than around 220 million shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, it said in a statement on Tuesday (March 25).

The raising, if in line with the amount expected by the two sources with direct knowledge of the matter, would be the largest in Hong Kong since Kuaishou Technology's US$6.2 billion initial public offering (IPO) in 2021, according to Dealogic data.

CATL did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters on the deal's size.

The company said in its Hong Kong Stock Exchange listing application in February that part of the funds raised will be used to build a 7.3 billion-euro (US$7.53 billion) battery plant in Hungary.

The listing comes as Hong Kong's equity capital markets fire back to life, after at least two years of flat-lining activity.

Chinese electric-vehicle makers Xiaomi and BYD have raised nearly US$11 billion in the past month, in share sales to fund their expansion plans.

Chinese firms have raised US$23.6 billion worth of equity capital globally so far in 2025, up 208% on the same time last year, according to LSEG data.

Easing government scrutiny of technology majors and the emergence of disruptive artificial intelligence software developer DeepSeek have attracted global investors to buy back into Chinese markets, according to bankers and advisers.

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