CATL's Bond Financing Tops RMB 40 Billion This Year

CATL completed a new medium-term note issue last week, lifting its bond financing this year above RMB 40 billion and beyond the company's total bond issuance in previous years, according to ETNet. The company’s A shares fell about 1.2% to RMB 359.34, while its H shares dropped about 1.3%. Data showed CATL recorded about RMB 29.4 billion in net new interest-bearing debt in the first half, with nearly 90% of the increase coming from bond financing. Although total interest-bearing debt continued to expand, interest expense fell more than 10% year on year, reflecting lower funding costs through greater bond issuance and an optimized debt structure. Separately, media reports said CATL is a sign of China's credit expansion shifting more quickly toward direct financing channels. Media-compiled data showed industrial issuers excluding local government financing vehicles and financial institutions sold RMB 4.3 trillion of bonds in the first eight months, the highest level for the same period on record.