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☆ From Tesla to under-the-radar battery stocks: Wall Street has a playbook for the EV boom
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Zavier Ong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The bank's "Battery Electric Vehicles Basket" comprises several stocks across the EV supply chain, including automakers Rivian , Lucid and Li Auto . This may be the opportune moment for Chinese EV brands to knock on the doors of Europe." Among the Chinese EV makers, BYD, Nio and Xpeng are "the ones to watch," according to Bernstein. "We expect Chinese EV players to find better success targeting the compact, mass market EV segment that has so far been under-penetrated in Europe," the bank said. Tesla and under-the-radar plays Tesla is one of Deutsche Bank 's top picks in the EV space.

☆ Volkswagen to invest in mines in bid to become global battery supplier
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Victoria Waldersee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Europe's biggest carmaker wants its battery unit PowerCo to become a global battery supplier, not just produce for Volkswagen's own needs, Thomas Schmall told Reuters in an interview. Long-term, Volkswagen plans to build enough cells to meet half its global battery needs, with most production capacity located in Europe and North America, according to Schmall. "The bottleneck for raw materials is mining capacity - that's why we need to invest in mines directly," he said. Volkswagen released on Thursday the details of a 25,000-euro EV it aims to sell in Europe from 2025. Asian producers like CATL, LG Chem and Samsung SDI dominate global cell production, with almost half of planned battery cell capacity in Europe by Asian players.

Concerns that Chinese investors are buying overseas to make a quick profit at home are valid. Since last year, 11 Chinese companies have raised a combined $3.6 billion by selling GDRs on the Six Swiss Exchange, data from Dealogic show. Savvy punters with access to foreign funds can therefore make a quick and relatively risk-free profit by shorting the Chinese stock and buying the discounted GDRs. This helps explain why Swiss shares of Chinese companies barely trade. Since the launch of a China-Swiss stock scheme in 2022, 11 Chinese companies have raised a combined $3.6 billion, according to data from Dealogic.

☆ General Motors' China business is hurting, and it's not just because of Covid
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Michael Wayland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

He purchased his Nio over models from rival Chinese automakers Xpeng , Li Auto and IM Motors. GM's operations in the country are much larger than those of its crosstown rival Ford Motor, for example. Equity income from GM's Chinese operations and joint ventures has fallen 67% since its peak of more than $2 billion in 2014 and 2015. And the rising quality of domestic-made electric vehicles helped support — and tap — growing nationalistic pride among China's consumers. In February, Ford named Sam Wu, a former Whirlpool executive who joined the automaker in October, as president and chief executive of its China operations, starting March 1.

The stand-off could threaten the government's revived push to advance lithium projects and make batteries, including through a recent deal with a Chinese consortium led by the world's largest battery maker CATL. Local authorities pledged to try to ease the tensions. "We are going to redouble our efforts as authorities ... so that this mobilization is lifted," said Jhonny Mamani, Potosi governor. Officials blamed the protests on misinformation campaigns and urged Bolivians to allow projects to move ahead or risk losing the chance to develop lithium resources. Reporting by Daniel Ramos and Monica Machicao; Writing by Anna-Catherine Brigida; Editing by David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China battery giant CATL's $5 billion Swiss listing delayed amid Beijing regulatory concerns, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

But the process is taking longer than expected, all three sources told Reuters. In early February, sources said CATL aimed to go ahead with the listing as early as May. Private placementThe sources said the Chinese regulator has concerns over the vast scale of CATL's GDR offering. At $5 billion, the GDR deal would easily be the largest such listing by a Chinese company in Switzerland, according to Refinitiv data. Chinese companies began listing in Switzerland last year after the launch of cross-listing platform to allow companies to raise capital by issuing and listing GDRs on the Swiss exchange SIX.

In early February, sources said CATL aimed to go ahead with the listing as early as May. PRIVATE PLACEMENTThe sources said the Chinese regulator has concerns over the vast scale of CATL's GDR offering. At $5 billion, the GDR deal would easily be the largest such listing by a Chinese company in Switzerland, according to Refinitiv data. With much better liquidity on the domestic market, investors can exit more easily. Such practices have also made Chinese regulators less keen to wave through mega-GDR offerings, two of the sources with knowledge of the matter said.

☆ Volkswagen: we are covered by our three gigafactories in Europe until 2028
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WOLFSBURG, March 13 (Reuters) - Volkswagen's (VOWG_p.DE) battery needs are covered until 2028 by its three confirmed factories in Europe - the Salzgitter plant in Germany, Northvolt's plant in Sweden and a planned plant in Valencia, board member Thomas Schmall said on Monday. "With these three plants we are covered until 2028," Schmall said at a press event at the Salzgitter plant, inaugurated last July. The Valencia plant, confirmed last year, is due to begin production in 2026. Volkswagen said last week it was waiting to hear what Europe's response to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act will be before progressing with plans to build further battery plants in the region. The carmaker was standardising the structure of its factories to make production more efficient, Schmall said, describing the process of building new plants as "copy-paste".

☆ Xi adds oversight risk to China EV battery growth plans
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Three battery industry executives - including two at CATL - and two people close to regulators working with the industry told Reuters they understood Xi’s remarks as a warning to both the company and the wider battery industry. Consultant Rystad Energy estimates that battery production capacity in China will reach 1,338 gigawatt hours (GWh) by year end, up 23%. But EV sales in China have started to slow, prompting CATL to offer discounts to smaller EV makers in China in February in exchange for locking in future orders. EXCESS CAPACITY RISKZeng told investors in May that the recent wave of investment worth billions of dollars in battery production could leave excess capacity as technology evolves. CATL told investors that the partnership, which it said was based on "commercial considerations" has been moving ahead.

☆ Pfizer’s $43 bln deal is a pricey pipeline fix
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, March 13 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Pfizer (PFE.N) has found a partial, costly replacement for waning sales of Covid-19 vaccines. The $225 billion pharmaceutical giant said Monday it had agreed to shell out $43 billion for oncology specialist Seagen (SGEN.O), inclusive of net debt. Snag is, Pfizer’s return will probably be low, and the deal may not even receive antitrust approval. Add estimated savings of $1 billion and the result is $1.2 billion of operating profit after tax, assuming the statutory corporate rate. That’s about a 3% return on the purchase price, similar to what Breakingviews estimated when news of talks leaked in February.

☆ China central bank punts its succession problem
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

That may be because Zhu Hexin, his mooted successor, is known mostly for his stint heading state-owned financial conglomerate CITIC – not a household name outside China - has no detectable international experience. In contrast, Yi is a respected known quantity for domestic and international investors alike, comfortable parleying with global institutions like the World Bank and IMF. Beijing might be keeping Yi for the painful parts of the reorganisation – including massive pay cuts – before retiring him. The so-called sea turtles – Chinese people with overseas market experience and foreign language skills – have been migrating out of government for years. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Abu Dhabi’s gas IPO displays the merits of caution
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Shares of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s gas processing spinoff jumped 18% on their IPO debut on Monday, valuing the company at 214 billion dirhams ($58 billion). ADNOC Gas (ADNOCGAS.AD) may be the chunkiest Gulf listing since Saudi Aramco’s (2222.SE) $1.7 trillion equivalent in 2019, but it was more sensibly priced. Aramco’s problem was that Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had already decreed that it should be worth $2 trillion. ADNOC Gas, by contrast, has a prospective yield of 5.6%, in line with local rivals and more in keeping with Western energy rivals. If anything, ADNOC Gas could be worth even more.

☆ HSBC turns Silicon Valley Bank calamity into gold
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 13 (Reuters Breakingviews) - A crisis can be an opportunity for the prepared. That’s what HSBC (HSBA.L) may find with its acquisition of Silicon Valley Bank’s UK arm (SVBUK), announced on Monday morning. The Bank of London, a young clearing bank that also submitted a bid, said on Monday that the HSBC deal was a missed opportunity to promote competition. On that theory, the UK government and Bank of England should have handed SVBUK to a financial-technology startup or a challenger bank, rather than strengthening an established player. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Mark Zuckerberg takes on Elon Musk
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, March 13 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Mark Zuckerberg is eyeing Elon Musk’s turf. Meta Platforms (META.O) is exploring a stand-alone social network for sharing text updates, according to a statement from the social media network to Breakingviews on Monday. The move makes sense since Facebook and Instagram have done a better job wringing money from their users than Twitter has. Since Musk bought Twitter in October 2022, the network has been plagued by technical difficulties and fleeing advertisers. Zuckerberg has a business model that knows how to monetize users, whereas Twitter is still figuring that out.

☆ CATL’s battery ram is losing power
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG, March 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology (300750.SZ) posted earnings growth of 61% for the quarter ended December on Thursday. The company led by Robin Zeng boasts unrivalled economies of scale, allowing it to drive down costs for clients including Tesla (TSLA.O). Alas, in China, which accounts for four fifths of CATL’s top line, such dominance is drawing unwanted attention. On Monday, during a meeting between Zeng and Chinese President Xi Jinping, the Party leader expressed mixed feelings about CATL’s 37% global market share. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Rubio wants to block Ford from tax breaks for using Chinese battery technology
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

US Senator Marco Rubio on Thursday introduced legislation that takes aim at Ford’s deal to use technology from Chinese battery company CATL as part of the automaker’s plan to spend $3.5 billion to build a battery plant in Michigan. No other entity will get US tax dollars for this project.”Last month, Rubio asked the Biden administration to review Ford’s deal to use technology from CATL. Rubio called for an immediate Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) review of the licensing agreement between Ford and CATL. The $430 billion IRA imposes restrictions on battery sourcing and is designed to wean the United States off the Chinese supply chain for electric vehicles (EVs). The IRA will eventually bar credits if any EV battery components were manufactured by a “foreign entity of concern,” in a provision aimed at China.

☆ SVB found old concentration risk
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, March 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Silicon Valley Bank’s closure on Friday by California authorities is a reminder of an old lesson: Don’t put too many eggs in one basket. The bank, owned by SVB Financial (SIVB.O), counted half of all U.S. venture capital-backed startups as clients. When tech took a disproportionate hit from the recent inflationary downturn, clients burned through savings, pulling out their deposits. SVB focused on tech, but its downfall is an old story of concentration risk. The eggs in the basket cracked, and in 1988 alone, 175 Texan banks, accounting for 25% of the state’s banking assets, failed.

☆ Rubio takes aim at planned Ford US battery plant using Chinese technology
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Senator Marco Rubio on Thursday introduced legislation that takes aim at Ford Motor's (F.N) deal to use technology from Chinese battery company CATL (300750.SZ) as part of the automaker's plan to spend $3.5 billion to build a battery plant in Michigan. Rubio, the top Republican on the Intelligence Committee, introduced legislation that would block tax credits for electric vehicle batteries produced using Chinese technology, saying it would "significantly restrict the eligibility of IRA tax credits and prevent Chinese companies from benefiting." Last month, Rubio asked the Biden administration to review Ford's deal to use technology from CATL. Rubio called for an immediate Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) review of the licensing agreement between Ford and CATL. The $430 billion IRA imposes restrictions on battery sourcing and is designed to wean the United States off the Chinese supply chain for electric vehicles (EVs).

HONG KONG, March 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - European financial centres are rolling out the red carpet for Chinese companies. Its free-float market capitalisation of $1.9 trillion is just a tenth of the New York Stock Exchange, January data from the World Federation of Exchanges show. Yet as tensions between Washington and Beijing rise and Chinese companies in New York face the threat of delisting, traditionally neutral Zurich has become an attractive alternative. That removes the risk that overseas regulators will demand access to mainland companies’ books - the source of a lengthy spat between the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and Beijing. Deutsche Börse (DB1Gn.DE), which operates Frankfurt’s stock exchange, is technically ready to launch the China-Germany Stock Connect, board representative Niels Tomm said in November.

☆ Elon Musk's dream of producing 20 million Teslas per year hangs on whether or not it can pull off a major shift in battery tech
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | Asia Martin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Tesla wants to make lower cost electric vehicles, as a key part of its plan to fend off challenger. Still, given Tesla's delivery of roughly 1.3 million vehicles last year, it clearly has a long way to go to hit Musk's goal. The growing portion of Tesla's LFP vehicles have, in part, been the result of a deal it struck with Chinese battery supplier CATL in 2020. Tesla and the rush for lithiumA lack of supply chain controls hinders efforts to produce low-cost EVs. The company started to take steps towards taking control of lithium supply into its own hands.

☆ China's Xi tells CATL he has mixed feelings about its battery market dominance
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the opening session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China March 4, 2023. REUTERS/Thomas PeterSHANGHAI, March 7 (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping told CATL (300750.SZ) on Monday he had mixed feelings about its status as the world's largest battery maker - remarks that come at a time when the company is rapidly expanding abroad and moving to undercut domestic rivals. After a presentation by CATL Chairman Zeng Yuqun who described how the firm commands 37% of the global battery market, Xi was quoted as saying that he was "both happy and worried", glad about its leading position but concerned about the risks. "Emerging industries must do a good job in planning, figuring out how big the market is and where the risks are. CATL's shares fell 1.6% on Tuesday, in line with a decline in China's blue chip CSI300 Index.

☆ China's Xi has mixed feelings about CATL's battery market dominance
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the opening session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China March 4, 2023. "Emerging industries must do a good job in planning, figuring out how big the market is and where the risks are," Xi was quoted as saying. At the same time, it has come under growing pressure from Washington, which has restricted Chinese companies' access to advanced AI chips and other semiconductors, citing national security. The Ford-CATL partnership will be win-win for both parties without threatening China's leadership in the EV industry, Dong wrote. Reporting by Zhang Yan and Brenda Goh Editing by Edwina Gibbs and David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Rystad Energy sees the global market deficit of lithium shrinking to around 20,000 to 30,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) this year, from 76,000 tonnes LCE in 2022. Out to 2025 it expects lithium supply to grow on average by 34% a year against an annual demand growth rate of 25%. MINERS UNFAZEDThe decline in lithium prices in China, the world's biggest consumer, has hit lithium producers overseas. LITHIUM CARBONATE SINKSThe price decline has been sharp. "A lithium carbonate price of 200,000-300,000 yuan per tonne is where both upstream and downstream will feel comfortable," said Rystad's Zou.

☆ Tesla faces tough competition from Chinese EV makers with cost advantage, says consultancy firm
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailTesla faces tough competition from Chinese EV makers with cost advantage, says consultancy firmBill Russo of Automobility Limited said that Tesla faces tough price competition from Chinese electric vehicle makers after Chinese battery maker CATL reportedly offered to sell its batteries to Chinese automakers at a discount.

☆ Musk's plan for a cheap Tesla car is what fans hope to hear this week
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Hyunjoo Jin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

This week, fans hope, he will explain what he has in mind - and perhaps how he can afford to build it. A recent Tesla engineering video showed a small car with typical Tesla curves that was assumed by company watchers to be a Model 2 sketch. Battery production also is an issue. Batteries are also likely to figure in Musk's plans for a "fully sustainable energy future" outside the car. He may also discuss solar power generation and battery energy storage - which he has said are two other pillars to a sustainable energy future.

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