Potential initial public offering of Chinese electric vehicle battery maker could be one of the year’s biggest.
The chairman of the House panel on the Chinese Communist Party urged two U.S. banks to withdraw from working on a first-time share sale of a Chinese electric vehicle battery titan, saying they could face “significant regulatory, financial, and reputational risks” by underwriting its listing.
Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, urged Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase on April 17 to halt further work on Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd.’s (CATL) initial public offering.
In letters to Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, Moolenaar emphasized that the Department of Defense (DoD) designated CATL as a “Chinese military company” in January. While this does not restrict the company’s operations, it can stigmatize the brand and affect business and investment relationships.
The world’s largest battery maker is also alleged to have links to a paramilitary group that operates forced labor camps for the Uyghur minority in China’s Xinjiang region.
“If JPMorgan and Bank of America proceed with this IPO, they risk complicity in underwriting genocide, undermining American industry, and endangering U.S. service members,” Moolenaar wrote.
Moolenaar added that he is assessing banks’ relationships with firms tied to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
“The House Select Committee on China is actively examining these relationships, and we urge JPMorgan and Bank of America to prioritize national security and human rights in their decision-making,” he said.
The letters also pointed to President Donald Trump’s America First Investment Policy memo that attempts to discourage Wall Street from persuading U.S. investors to fund CATL’s stock listing.
“CATL’s IPO represents precisely the type of investment this policy seeks to deter,” Moolenaar said.
CATL, a significant supplier of lithium iron phosphate batteries to Tesla Motors’ Shanghai Factory, has denied these claims and called the Pentagon’s designation a “mistake.”
“CATL has never engaged in any military-related business or activities, so this designation by the Department of Defense is a mistake,” the company said in a Jan. 7 statement.
“It does not restrict CATL from conducting business with entities other than DoD and is expected to have no substantially adverse impact on our business. We will proactively engage with DoD to address the false designation, including legal action if necessary, to protect the interests of our company and shareholders as a whole.”
By Andrew Moran
