2011-01-14 15:21

Hong Kong-listed BYD plans to issue up to 100 million shares on the mainland's Shenzhen Stock Exchange in the second half of this year, Sina.com reported on Jan 13.

Having submitted documents to the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the Shenzhen-based company is expected to be back on the A-share market with its auto and battery businesses, said Wu Jingsheng, vice president of BYD.

The company aims to raise several billion yuan through the listing, according to Wu, and Sina.com estimates the figure to reach 4 billion yuan. The battery and car maker's domestic listing plan dates back to 2008, but has long been shelved due to variables, Wu said.

The Warren Buffett-backed company is spearheading China's electric vehicle industry. Its K9 electric bus, which runs up to 250 kilometers on a single charge, has been put in use in Shenzhen.

It plans to launch 1,000 units of that model in 2011, with 250 being delivered to Universiade Shenzhen 2011 by August, and another 200 ordered by Changsha, Hunan province.

BYD plans to launch 20,000 units of "green" models, including the K9, F3DM, and E6, in the following two years, Wu said. They are for government procurement and individual buyers, according to Wu.

Wu said batteries are the crux of the company's new energy car development, and it will focus on this sector by increasing its annual battery output to 1.6 gWh, eight times the current 0.2 gWh.

Sales of BYD cars grew 15.5 percent year-on-year to 520,000 million units in 2010, slower than the 170 percent growth in 2009.

BYD President Wang Chuanfu said the company's auto sales growth would remain at 10 to 20 percent in the future, as it has entered a stable phase.

Auto sales make up 54 percent of BYD's turnover, followed by the handset sector (38 percent), and rechargeable battery sector (8 percent), according to the company's 2010 interim report.