EV battery giant CATL to make HK$1 billion investment in Hong Kong headquarters and R&D centre operations, Paul Chan says

Chan added: “We also hope that through this collaboration, your company can achieve even greater success on the international stage.”

Robin Zeng, chairman of CATL, said the company would take advantage of the city’s free flow of information and emphasis on talent to grow its product patents, in efforts to expand overseas.

CATL had 18,000 R&D staff on its payroll and owns more than 22,000 patents, Zeng said, adding that the firm is granted between 7,000 and 8,000 new patents each year.

The company also allocated 10.6 billion yuan (HK$11.65 billion) in the first half of this year to resource and development, he said.

“The products developed by the R&D centre in Hong Kong are patents, which are then licenced to other companies, such as Ford in the United States, from whom we collect licence fees and royalty fees,” Zeng said. “We can also charge by providing services.”

The CATL chairman added: “This patent licencing and operation model is a low-asset approach, particularly in the current complex geopolitical landscape, it proves to be a favourable model.”

In the first half of this year, the world’s biggest maker of batteries for EVs achieved a global market share of 37 per cent, while leading the way with a shipment volume surpassing global competitors from 2021 to the first half of 2023, capturing a market share of 43 per cent.

CATL to make battery offering 400km driving range from 10-minute charge

Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Sun Dong said CATL’s decision to set up its headquarters in the city was a vote of confidence in Hong Kong as a global technology hub and an international financial centre.

“With Hong Kong’s advantage of being connected to the world through its close ties with the mainland, I believe that Hong Kong can undoubtedly support CATL in building its global industrial footprint,” he said, reiterating the city’s goal of attracting 100 cutting-edge overseas companies in five years.

In October, the government said over 30 overseas companies had pledged to build a presence in Hong Kong through the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES), which is looking to attract companies specialising in healthtech, artificial intelligence and big data to the city.