Mainland battery makers look to plug in to SAR investors

Two mainland-based rechargeable battery makers - BYD and Coslight Technology International Group - are planning to raise HK$1.3 billion and HK$73 million respectively in the local stock market.

BYD, which says it is the world's fourth-largest maker of lithium-ion batteries, will offer 130 million new shares, or 25 per cent of its share capital, in a local listing. The shares will be priced between HK$9.45 and HK$12.20 per share.

Although BYD is not state owned, it will issue the new shares in the form of H shares - a method usually adopted by state-owned enterprises in Hong Kong.

China's company law imposes a three-year moratorium on domestic shareholders of an H-share transferring their shares after a Hong Kong listing. Domestic shareholders are also banned from trading shares in the open market. To get around the strict rules, many mainland enterprises list shares in Hong Kong through an overseas-domiciled vehicle.

'We are a company rooted in China, so we decided to list our shares in the form of H-shares. The arrangement also shows that we have no intention of cashing out,' BYD's president and largest shareholder Wang Chuanfu said yesterday.

BYD saw its net profit jump 69 per cent last year to 210.48 million yuan (about HK$197.2 million), while sales increased by 49 per cent to 1.3 billion yuan.