Due to relatively sufficient domestic capacity and the urgent need to accelerate overseas expansion, Shenzhen Senior Technology Material (300568.SZ) plans to use funds raised for domestic projects to invest in overseas plant construction.
Shenzhen Senior Technology Material announced in the evening that the company is expected to allocate the unused 2.08 billion yuan raised through a private placement in 2021 for the "High-Performance Lithium-Ion Battery Wet Process Separator and Coated Separator (Phase I and Phase II) Project" to a newly added fundraising project, the "High-Performance Lithium-Ion Battery Wet Process and Coated Separator Malaysia Project."
The newly added fundraising project has obtained relevant approval documents, including the Overseas Investment Project Filing and the Overseas Investment Certificate.
It is reported that the Malaysia project of Shenzhen Senior Technology Material was announced in August 2023. The company plans to use its subsidiary Innovate New Materials Technology (Malaysia) Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Innovate") as the project implementation entity to invest in the construction of a lithium battery separator production site in Penang, Malaysia. The total investment is expected not to exceed 5 billion yuan, with a construction period of 18 months. Upon completion and reaching full production, the annual output is expected to reach 2 billion m² of lithium-ion battery wet process separators and supporting coated separators.
In November 2023, Innovate held a groundbreaking ceremony in Penang, Malaysia. Since then, there has been no substantial progress in the Malaysia project of Shenzhen Senior Technology Material until December 2024, when the company's disclosure regarding the project's progress remained at the stage of "site selection in Penang, Malaysia."
Shenzhen Senior Technology Material stated in the announcement that the change in the use of raised funds is mainly based on two reasons: First, changes in the industry environment. The domestic lithium battery separator industry has entered a new cycle of capacity release, with a supply-demand imbalance and intensified competition. The company's current domestic capacity is relatively sufficient, but it urgently needs to accelerate overseas expansion to enhance its global supply capability.
Second, to improve its global industry layout and increase its market share overseas. As the company deepens cooperation with many internationally renowned producers and downstream customers advance their plant construction plans in Southeast Asia, the company finds it necessary to keep pace by building a lithium battery separator production site in Southeast Asia.
From the perspective of industry development, the overseas capacity layout of lithium battery enterprises is accelerating. Recently, CATL (300750.SZ) announced its plan to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with part of the funds raised to be used for advancing the construction of its overseas factories. In the previous year, the lithium battery industry chain's pace of going global was remarkably rapid. Companies such as Gotion High-tech (002074.SZ), Ganfeng Lithium (002460.SZ), Sunwoda (300207.SZ), EVE (300014.SZ), Enjie (002812.SZ), and DFD (002407.SZ) all announced plans for direct overseas investment in plant construction.
