Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), the world’s largest electric vehicle battery maker by sales, announced on a filing with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on Monday its plan to issue up to USD 3 billion worth of overseas corporate bonds.
Ningde-headquartered CATL (SHE: 300750) said the board of directors made this decision to meet the development of its overseas business, increasing its corporate bond sale plan announced in November from USD 800 million to USD 3 billion, without offering further explanation.
The company did not disclose what the new funds will be used for, although the firm has previously announced plans to invest about EUR 1.8 billion (USD 2 billion) to build a manufacturing and R&D site in Germany, KrASIA reported in June.
CATL also signed in February a two-year battery supply agreement with US-based EV firm Tesla, which will allow the EV maker to purchase CATL’s batteries based on its own needs without any restrictions on the purchase volume.
To know more about how this Chinese firm became the world’s biggest EV battery manufacturer in less than 10 years, check out this video.
This article is part of KrASIA’s “China Brief” section, where KrASIA’s reporters will provide quick daily updates about the tech ecosystem in China.