China’s Tianqi Lithium is reportedly aiming to raise up to US$1 billion in a Hong Kong stock market flotation, as the group seeks to tighten its grip on the battery materials market.
The company, which posted a draft IPO prospectus on the Hong Kong exchange web site, has declined to comment until details are released.
But Reuters quoted “sources close to the deal” as saying the final amount could fall short of Tianqi’s US$1bn goal “due to a steep drop in lithium carbonate prices”.
However, Tianqi is among Chinese firms that have been on a spending spree to shore up supplies of raw materials to support the country’s drive to dominate batteries production— and cater for the expanding electric vehicles market.
The group also has a lithium-ion batteries production and R&D partnership with Shanghai Aerospace Power Technology.
And Tianqi agreed just weeks ago to buy a 25.9% stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile (SQM) from Canada-based Nutrien in a deal worth more than US$4bn.
Tianqi’s IPO move follows an announcement by China’s largest lithium compounds producer, Ganfeng Lithium, that it was looking to raise US$1bn from an IPO in Hong Kong to expand its battery-related businesses.
Meanwhile, one of China’s largest lithium hydroxide and carbonate producers, Sichuan Yahua Industrial Group, confirmed it was boosting its investment in Australian lithium producer Core Exploration.
