China’s NIO sells US$1.3 billion worth of convertible notes as electric car maker’s ADS hits all-time high in New York

NIO’s American depositary shares hit an all-time closing high of US$62.70 a piece on Monday

NIO launched a mass production electric car on Saturday with what could be the world’s farthest driving range

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Chinese electric car manufacturer NIO’s ET7 sedan. Photo: AFP

Published: 1:23pm, 12 Jan 2021Updated: 3:31pm, 26 Jan 2021

Chinese electric car maker NIO has sold US$1.3 billion worth of convertible senior notes that can be swapped for the smart electric vehicle maker’s surging American depositary shares.

NIO’s ADSs hit an all-time closing high of US$62.70 a piece on Monday on the New York Stock Exchange, up 6.42 per cent on the day.

If the Tesla challenger issues a greenshoe tranche, an over allotment of shares, then the offering could rise to US$1.5 billion.

NIO launched a mass production electric car on Saturday with what could be the world’s farthest driving range, as it ups the ante with Tesla for customers in the largest market for new-energy vehicles on the planet. Its new electric luxury sedan could go as far as 1,000km on a single charge, using a 150 kWh battery, the carmaker said.

William Li Bin, chief executive of NIO, on stage during the launch of the carmaker's ET7 sports-utility vehicle in the Sichuan provincial capital of Chengdu on January 9, 2021. Photo: Daniel Ren

A convertible note is a fixed-income security that yields interest payments, but can be converted into equity shares.

NIO’s convertible notes are divided into two tranches, one due in 2026 and the other a year later.

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