Buffett-backed EV maker BYD gets approval from Hong Kong bourse for semiconductor unit spinoff in Shenzhen

Name: Luxury shopping centres open new battleground for China’s electric car makers
Uploaded: 2021-10-26T02:00:07.000Z
Duration: 2 min 52 s
Description: Luxury shopping centres open new battleground for China’s electric car makers

BYD is seeking to list the semiconductor business on Shenzhen Stock Exchange’s ChiNext board

Spinoff will allow more equitable assessment of business units in the group, still needs approval from Shenzhen bourse, Chinese regulators

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Visitors mingling at BYD’ s booth during the Auto Shanghai 2021 show in April. Photo: Bloomberg

Chad Bray

Published: 10:00am, 26 Oct 2021Updated: 10:48pm, 26 Oct 2021

BYD, the Warren Buffett-backed Chinese battery and carmaker, said it has received approval from the Hong Kong stock exchange for the proposed spin off of its semiconductor unit in mainland China.

The Shenzhen-based electric vehicle maker, controlled by billionaire co-founder Wang Chuanfu, said it received approval for a plan leading to a listing of its chipmaking unit from the Hong Kong bourse on October 22, according to a stock exchange filing on Monday.

The company still needs to meet a number of conditions before it can be implemented, including receiving approval from the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), according to the filing.

The spinoff “will enable investors to appraise the strategies, risks and returns of the businesses of BYD Semiconductor and the company separately and to invest directly in the relevant businesses independently,” BYD said. That would allow a more equitable assessment of the businesses, it added.

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Luxury shopping centres open new battleground for China’s electric car makers

The plan will help BYD Semiconductor, an independent leading manufacturer of automotive-grade IGBTs, or power electronic switching devices, to expand financing channel, to enhance brand awareness and to optimize corporate governance structure, BYD said in its interim report to shareholders in August.