BEIJING -- CATL, China's top electric-vehicle battery maker, is seeking to raise up to 20 billion yuan ($2.85 billion) in a private placement of shares to fund battery projects and boost working capital.
The funds will help CATL expand battery-production capacity in Fujian, Jiangsu and Sichuan, as well as an energy storage research project, the company said in a filing with the Shenzhen stock exchange late Wednesday.
The company has partnerships with Tesla, Volkswagen and BMW.
In a separate filing on Wednesday, the battery maker said it plans to invest 10 billion yuan in a battery manufacturing base in Ningde, where it is headquartered.
China has set an ambitious plan for new energy vehicles, which include battery-only, plug-in hybrid and fuel-cell vehicles. However, sales of such vehicles sank 52% in January, industry data showed, due to a cut in subsidies, an early Lunar New Year holiday as well as the impact of the outbreak in China of a new coronavirus.
