Tinci Materials Secondary Listing on HKEX, "Electrolyte Leader" Expands into European Market

Southern Finance reporter Yang Qixin Guangzhou report

Currently, companies along the lithium battery industry chain are entering a wave of listings in Hong Kong.

According to incomplete statistics, since 2025, beginning with industry leader CATL, as of now more than 16 lithium-battery-related companies have been crowding into Hong Kong listings, covering core links across the entire industry chain such as batteries, materials, and equipment, forming a large-scale listing boom.

On March 27, Guangzhou Tinci High-Tech Materials Co., Ltd. (abbreviated as “Tinci Materials”) submitted its prospectus to the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, planning to list on the Hong Kong Main Board. It is worth noting that this is its second application after its previous filing lapsed on September 22, 2025.

Previously, Tinci Materials had decided to issue GDRs and list them on the SIX Swiss Exchange, raising funds for projects such as its Morocco lithium battery materials project. However, in April 2025, Tinci Materials’ GDR issuance plan was announced to be terminated, with the reason given as “changes in factors such as the internal and external environment.”

Tinci Materials stated that the company seeks to be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in order to further advance the company’s global strategy, establish an international capital operations platform, optimize its capital structure, expand diversified financing channels, and enhance its overall competitiveness.

The prospectus shows that Tinci Materials is a global leader in the electrolyte field. The company is the first in the world—and currently the only one—to achieve large-scale industrial production of liquid LiPF6, and is known as the “electrolyte king.” According to materials from Zhishun Consulting, since 2016, Tinci Materials has ranked first globally in electrolyte shipment volume for nine consecutive years. In 2024, its global market share was approximately 35.7%, far higher than the industry’s second-place player BYD (15.6%).

Data show that in 2025, Tinci Materials achieved operating revenue of 16.650 billion yuan, up 33.00% year over year; net profit attributable to shareholders of 1.362 billion yuan, up 181.43% year over year. According to Wind, in 2025, Tinci Materials’ share price increased by 136.25%, placing it among the top five in the battery chemicals industry.

From its inception to surpassing 10 billion yuan in revenue, Tinci Materials’ development story can be described as a “legend.” Its founder is Xu Jinfu. In the early years, he worked deeply in the daily chemicals industry, with his main business focused on producing personal-care product material such as shampoo and shower gel. Later, in 2000, he invested 5.10 million yuan to found Guangzhou Tinci High-Tech Materials Co., Ltd.

As the business scale continued to expand, Xu Jinfu keenly perceived the huge business prospects embedded in the lithium-ion battery and new energy vehicle industries, and resolutely moved rapidly from the daily chemicals field into the lithium battery materials sector. In 2014, Tinci Materials successfully listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange; in 2021, benefiting from the upsurge in the new energy vehicle industry, Tinci Materials’ market value at one point exceeded one trillion yuan.

At present, the company’s business mainly consists of two segments: lithium-ion battery materials and daily chemical materials and specialty chemicals. In the lithium-ion battery materials sector, the company has already reached strategic cooperation with leading battery manufacturers and vehicle OEM companies worldwide. In 2024, eight of the top 10 global power battery manufacturers, all of the top 10 global energy storage battery manufacturers, and nine of the top 10 global consumer battery manufacturers were all Tinci Materials’ customers or adopted its products within their supply chains.

It is worth noting that, by being deeply tied to CATL, Tinci Materials has fully benefited from the development tailwinds of the new energy vehicle industry.

The prospectus reveals that CATL is Tinci Materials’ largest customer. Business cooperation between Tinci Materials and CATL began in 2017. As CATL continued to grow, the procurement amount from Tinci Materials increased continuously. In 2022, the procurement amount from CATL to Tinci Materials reached as high as 12.167 billion yuan, accounting for 54.5% of the company’s sales revenue. As of 2025, CATL still remains Tinci Materials’ largest customer, with a procurement amount of 6.011 billion yuan, accounting for 36.1% of the company’s sales revenue.

In terms of production capacity, as of now, Tinci Materials has electrolyte production capacity of 860,000 tons, covering multiple bases including Jiujiang, Nantong, Sichuan, Jiangmen, Fuding, and others. In full-year 2025, the shipment volume was 773,000 tons, making it a leading company in this field. In addition, the company has 112,000 tons of LiPF6 and 30,000 tons of lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide.

In the daily chemical sector, Tinci Materials’ products include series such as surfactants and silicone oils, which are widely used in personal care and household goods. Relevant information shows that Tinci Materials is the largest producer of amphoteric surfactants in Asia, with carbomer capacity of 5,000 tons, ranking second in the industry. It maintains close cooperation with international giants such as L’Oréal and Procter & Gamble. In 2024, the company’s service coverage extended to nine of the top 10 global personal care product manufacturers.

Judging from overall performance in the past three years, in 2023, 2024, and 2025, Tinci Materials’ operating revenue was 15.405 billion yuan, 12.518 billion yuan, and 16.650 billion yuan, respectively. Corresponding net profits were 1.842 billion yuan, 0.478 billion yuan, and 13.44 billion yuan, respectively, showing a trend of falling first and then rebounding. In response, Tinci Materials stated that the company’s revenue decline was mainly due to intensified competition in the lithium-ion battery materials industry, which led to a decline in the average selling price of lithium-ion battery materials.

It should be noted that the company’s operating business depends on large quantities of key materials. Their prices are, in essence, volatile and closely related to global commodity market trends. In 2025, the company’s direct material cost was 10.092 billion yuan; if direct material prices fluctuate by 5%, it will have an impact of more than 5.0 billion yuan on profit before tax.

Currently, the global lithium battery industry is undergoing a profound global reshaping, and “overseas expansion” and “local production” have become the core keywords in the industry.

The continued ramp-up of demand for overseas power batteries and energy storage batteries, together with strict policy requirements such as the EU’s “New Battery Regulation,” which impose tighter standards on the supply-chain localization ratio and carbon footprint, jointly drive the local production of electric vehicle and battery manufacturing—an irreversible trend.

Among them, the European market—backed by its massive demand potential and strict policy orientation—undoubtedly has become the core battleground of this global industrial competition. According to data from Zhishun Consulting, the European lithium-ion battery market has shown rapid growth, increasing from 85.4GWh in 2020 to 256.4GWh in 2024. It is expected to reach 1109.9GWh by 2030, with an expected CAGR of 27.7%, significantly exceeding China’s expected CAGR of 23.5%.

More importantly, since 2025, the European policy environment has shifted. The UK, Italy, Germany, and other countries have restarted subsidies for new energy vehicles, further releasing market demand. Against this backdrop, China’s leading companies across the lithium battery industry chain are directing capacity and capital toward Europe at an unprecedented speed and scale.

In the battery manufacturing field, leading companies such as CATL and EVE Energy have moved first, directly rooting their capacity layout in Europe. Among them, CATL plans to allocate 90% of its funds raised through its Hong Kong share offering entirely to its Hungary project, with a total investment amount as high as 37.1 billion yuan. Its Phase 1 plant in Hungary completed production line commissioning by the end of 2025 and plans to gradually start production. At the same time, CATL’s German factory has achieved stable profitability, and the Spanish factory jointly built with the Stellantis Group is also under advancement, further improving its capacity layout network in Europe.

EVE Energy is also moving in parallel, directing the funds raised mainly to the Hungary large cylindrical battery project, precisely seizing the high-end European power battery market. According to industry data, as of the third quarter of 2025, Europe’s battery production capacity under construction had reached 340GWh, of which the planned capacity by Chinese companies accounts for as much as 58%.

Not only battery companies are accelerating their overseas expansion; companies in the lithium battery materials sector are also following the industry trend. Tinci Materials’ global layout clearly reflects this strategic shift. By the end of 2025, Tinci Materials had already established 16 operating production bases and 1 base under construction domestically, strengthening the domestic industrial foundation. Meanwhile, through a contract manufacturing model, the company has established initial supply footholds in the United States and Germany, laying the groundwork for entering overseas markets. To further meet the continuously growing demand in global and European markets, Tinci Materials is planning to build new production bases in Morocco and the United States, continuously expanding the boundaries of its overseas layout.

Among them, the Morocco project has become a key step for Tinci Materials’ Europe layout. In June 2025, Tinci Materials and the Moroccan government formally signed an investment agreement, planning to construct an integrated production complex with an annual output of 150,000 tons of electrolytes and core materials in the local area.

It is worth noting that Morocco faces Europe across the sea and has abundant phosphate rock resources—while phosphate rock is one of the core raw materials for electrolyte production. This unique geographic location and resource advantage allow the project to efficiently cover Europe’s market demand. The project is planned to formally start construction from the end of 2025 to the first quarter of 2026, and is expected to complete construction and begin production between the end of 2027 and the first half of 2028.

From the perspective of funding support, Tinci Materials’ Hong Kong IPO fundraising plan is also tilting toward overseas expansion. The prospectus shows that the company intends to use about 60% of the funds raised in this Hong Kong IPO for construction of the Morocco project.

Industry insiders analyze that companies such as Tinci Materials listing in Hong Kong and making large-scale investments overseas have positive aspects: they can build an international capital platform, broaden financing channels to support the construction of overseas assets-heavy bases, and also significantly enhance international brand influence.

However, challenges are also very clear: the company’s current proportion of overseas revenue is still not high, and large-scale overseas investment will face multiple tests including geopolitical factors, cultural differences, and operational management. In addition, the project construction cycle is long, and in the short term it may put pressure on cash flow.

As of the close on March 31, Tinci Materials’ share price closed at 46 yuan per share, down 4.5%, with a total market capitalization of 93.774 billion yuan.