Ganfeng Lithium Co., Ltd.
Native name
赣锋锂业股份有限公司
Typepublicly traded company
SZSE: 002460
SEHK: 1772
IndustryMining
Founded2000 (2000)
HeadquartersLongteng Road, Economic Development Zone, Xinyu, Jiangxi Province, China
Key people
Li Liangbin (李良彬, chair)
Wang Xiaoshen (王晓申, vice-chair and president)
ProductsLithium products and other metals
Number of employees
7,870 (2020)
Websitehttp://www.ganfenglithium.com/
Ganfeng Lithium
Simplified Chinese赣锋锂业
Traditional Chinese贛鋒鋰業

Ganfeng Lithium Co., Ltd. is a company that produces lithium, lithium products, other metals, and batteries in mainland China and globally. It was founded by Li Liangbin in 2000 and is headquartered in Xinyu, Jiangxi.[1][2] It is the largest lithium salt producer in China and the third largest in the world,[3] as well as the second largest lithium processor in the world (after the Chilean Sociedad Química y Minera).[2] It is traded on both the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE: 002460) and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (SEHK: 1772)[4] and has a market capitalization of US$26 billion.[2]

Origins

Ganfeng Lithium was founded in 2000[5][2] by Li Liangbin (李良彬) and Li Huabiao (李华彪) in Xinyu City, Jiangxi.[6] In 2003, the company built a lithium production base.[5] The company's leaders, Li Liangbin and Wang Xiaoshen (王晓申), are both of poor, rural origins.[2]

The company started out in chemical processing, but it has expanded its scope by developing mines internationally.[2] In 2017 it began producing batteries for the growing electric vehicle industry. Wang said Ganfeng's battery production would benefit from an economy of scope: "We are the leading supplier of lithium chemicals which will benefit our battery plant."[7]

Products and activities

Described as a "lithium supermarket", Ganfeng sells a wide variety of lithium and related products, including lithium salts, other metals, and batteries.[8][1][9] Its lithium salt production capacity was estimated at 120,000 tons per year as of 2021.[9] As of 2019, it is the largest pure lithium producer in the world.[10] As of 2022, it is also the largest lithium salt producer in China and the third largest in the world,[3] as well as the second largest lithium processor in the world (after the Chilean Sociedad Química y Minera).[2] In 2020, Ganfeng produced an estimated 24% of the world's lithium hydroxide.[8] It sells products to clients including Tesla, BMW, and LG Chem.[9][11]

Ganfeng invests in lithium projects overseas[2] and says its "strategy is to secure long-term competitive resources".[7] It owns three lithium brine projects in Argentina[4] and was the largest shareholder of Lithium Americas in 2021.[12] In 2014, Ganfeng invested in the Mariana lithium-potassium brine project in Argentina.[5] In 2015, the company invested in the Australian company Reed Industrial Minerals, gaining rights to its Mount Marion spodumene project.[5] In 2021, it acquired a 50% ownership stake in the Goulamina mine, a lithium mine in Mali's Ségou Region.[13][14][15][16] The company also has investments and contracts in China,[15] Ireland,[15] Mexico,[15][2] and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[15]

This international scope makes Ganfeng vulnerable to geopolitical tension.[2] Its former supplier Joe Lowry said that the company would be "treading a fine line" between international pressures; Ganfeng risks being affected by US government actions targeting Chinese companies or by Chinese government intervention in the electric vehicle industry.[2] Governments in Latin America have also taken steps that may limit Ganfeng's opportunities there; for instance, Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador has worked to nationalize the country's lithium.[8][17]

Stock market listings

The company is dual-listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.[2] As of August 2022, it has a market capitalization of US$26 billion.[2]

On 10 August 2010, the company had an IPO on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. It issued 25 million new shares at a price of 20.7 RMB each, raising 517.5 million RMB.[18][6]

On 11 October 2018, it had an IPO on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange at a list price range of 16.50–26.50 HKD. The company issued 200,185,800 H shares, raising 3.171 billion HKD, which it used to expand its lithium-related activities. China Structural Reform Fund, LG, Samsung, Dongfeng Motor Corporation, FAW Group, and GoldenSand Capital were the six cornerstone investors.[19][20][21][22]

In July 2022, Ganfeng announced that it was being investigated by the China Securities Regulatory Commission in a possible insider trading case.[9] The company's stock fell 7% on the Shenzhen stock exchange after the announcement.[23]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "贛鋒鋰業股份有限公司業務資料". Archived from the original on 2021-03-05. Retrieved 2022-05-04.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "China's lithium champion Ganfeng mints money but walks a fine line". Financial Times. 19 August 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  3. 1 2 "Shares of lithium-salt provider surge as EV demand drives tenfold profit jump". South China Morning Post. 27 April 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  4. 1 2 "China's lithium giant buys Argentina mine to boost battery resource". South China Morning Post. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "贛鋒鋰業股份有限公司歷史". Archived from the original on 2022-06-23. Retrieved 2022-05-04.
  6. 1 2 "Ganfeng Lithium Co., Ltd". p. 116. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  7. 1 2 "China's Ganfeng prepares for electric car buying rush". Financial Times. 6 July 2017. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 "China's Ganfeng Lithium stakes out overseas claims in hot market". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "China probes Tesla supplier Ganfeng Lithium for suspected insider trading". South China Morning Post. 4 July 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  10. ↑ "Electric cars: China powers the battery supply chain". Financial Times. 22 May 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  11. ↑ "Shares in China's lithium producer Ganfeng surge 10% on Tesla deal". Financial Times. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  12. ↑ Penn, Ivan; Lipton, Eric; Angotti-Jones, Gabriella (6 May 2021). "The Lithium Gold Rush: Inside the Race to Power Electric Vehicles". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  13. ↑ "China's Ganfeng Lithium buys lithium mines in Argentina". Financial Times. 11 July 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  14. ↑ "China's biggest lithium group seals deal for UK-listed Bacanora". Financial Times. 25 August 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 "China's Ganfeng to pay $130 million for stake in Mali lithium mine". Reuters. 14 June 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  16. ↑ "Firefinch and China's Ganfeng take FID for Mali lithium project". Mining Technology. 4 January 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  17. ↑ "Mexico nationalises lithium in populist president's push to extend state control". Financial Times. 20 April 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  18. ↑ "赣锋锂业股份有限公司招股公告". Shenzhen Stock Exchange. 2010-07-27. Archived from the original on 2022-05-05.
  19. ↑ "赣锋锂业香港IPO拟集资33-53亿元". Jiangxi Daily. 2018-10-10. Archived from the original on 2022-07-02.
  20. ↑ "赣锋锂业股份有限公司招股資料" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-05-04. Retrieved 2022-05-04.
  21. ↑ "赣锋锂业股份有限公司招股公告" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-05-05. Retrieved 2022-05-04.
  22. ↑ "China's Ganfeng Lithium Prices IPO at bottom of range raising $422m". www.ft.com. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  23. ↑ "Chinese Tesla lithium supplier probed for insider trading". Financial Times. 4 July 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
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