IPO News | Hailiang Co., Ltd. (002203.SZ) once again submitted the Hong Kong Stock Exchange ranking fifth in the world in lithium battery copper foil product shipments

Zhitong Finance App learned that according to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's disclosure on August 30, Zhejiang Hailiang Co., Ltd. (abbreviation: Hailiang Shares, 002203.SZ) submitted a listing application to the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with CICC and GF Securities as co-sponsors. The company submitted its listing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on January 30, 2026.

Company profile

According to the prospectus, Hailiang Co., Ltd. is a global supplier of copper-based products, providing advanced thermal management materials and conductor materials to help global customers achieve energy efficiency improvements. The company's products mainly include: copper pipes, copper bars and copper fittings for heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems and industrial applications; ultra-thin copper foil as a conductive layer for lithium-ion batteries and printed circuit board (PCB) substrates; and copper-based cooling modules and liquid cooling components for dispersing heat generated by high-performance servers and processors in AI data centers (AIDC) and other AI applications.

The company's products include (i) HVAC and industrial copper processing products; (ii) lithium batteries and printed circuit board (PCB) copper foil products; (iii) copper processing products for AI applications; and (iv) aluminum-based products. The company also generates revenue from copper trade, which complements intensive supply chain management and promotes inventory turnover.

As of May 31, 2026, the company has a total of 951 patents, including 198 invention patents. The company has built a comprehensive framework around research institutes in Zhejiang and Gansu. The company's R&D team consists of senior professionals with deep academic experience and professional background in nonferrous metal processing, chemistry, materials science and metallurgy. As of May 31, 2026, the company's R&D team included 1,043 professionals, including R&D personnel and technicians.

The company operates all over the world and produces on a wide scale. As of May 31, 2026, it has set up 23 production bases in Asia, Europe, North America and Africa to serve the global customer base. The company has set up 11 production bases in China as of May 31, 2026. In overseas markets, the company has 12 production bases in Asia, Europe, North America and Africa. The company implements a “sales to determine production” model, initiates capacity allocation and production scheduling after receiving confirmed sales orders to minimize inventory risks and ensure efficient use of resources. The company has deployed digital systems at various production sites to achieve real-time monitoring and management, and introduced automated equipment to optimize production efficiency.

The company shipped 62,500 tons of lithium copper foil products in 2025, ranking fifth in the world, with a market share of 4.3%. The company's lithium battery copper foil developed rapidly. Shipments increased from 34,000 tons in 2024 to 62,500 tons in 2025. The growth rate during this period was 83.8%, ranking first among the top five global lithium battery copper foil product providers, which is significantly higher than the industry average growth rate of 57.9%.

Financial data

Earnings

In 2023, 2024, 2025 and the five months ended May 31, 2026, the company achieved revenue of approximately RMB 75.734 billion, RMB 87.542 billion, RMB 83.307 billion and RMB 40.47 billion, respectively.

Mōri

In 2023, 2024, 2025 and the five months ended May 31, 2026, the company recorded gross profit of approximately $3,092 billion, $2,903 billion, $3.135 billion and $1,762 billion respectively.

Annual/period profit

In 2023, 2024, 2025 and the five months ended May 31, 2026, the company recorded annual/period profit of approximately $1,169 million, $624 million, $1,010 million and $555 million respectively.

Industry Overview

In 2021, the global market size of copper processing products in the HVAC and industrial sector was about 4.57 million tons, and the CAGR was 2.8% between 2021 and 2025. Driven by factors such as energy efficiency standard upgrades, equipment upgrades, and continuous promotion of energy-saving building renovation, the market size is expected to reach 6.326 million tons in 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of 4.4% between 2025 and 2030.

Although growth rates in Europe, North America, Southeast Asia and India are high, China's past and forecast CAGR is still relatively low. This is mainly due to the country's mature installation base for HVAC and industrial systems, the gradual pace of energy-saving building renovation, and the low penetration rate of high-end copper-intensive equipment in the industrial sector. Furthermore, although continued urbanization and infrastructure modernization continue to maintain baseline consumption, China's architecture-led demand is affected by interlaced regional renovation cycles, limiting uniform market expansion.

The global lithium battery and PCB copper foil market grew from about 935,000 tons in 2021 to 2.143 million tons in 2025. With the rapid development of the downstream market, the global lithium battery and PCB copper foil market is expected to reach 4.784 million tons by 2030. Driven by the continued expansion of the new energy vehicle market, large-scale deployment of energy storage systems, and rising demand for smart devices, the lithium battery copper foil market size increased from 383,000 tons in 2021 to 1.468 million tons in 2025, and is expected to reach 3.898 million tons in 2030 according to shipment volume. PCB copper foil, on the other hand, relies on the need to upgrade high-frequency high-speed circuits such as 5G communication and AI computing power. According to shipment volume, its market size is expected to reach 886,000 tons in 2030.

In 2025, global shipments of copper processing products will be about 32.862 million tons. Based on shipment volume, the total market share of the world's top five suppliers of copper processing products is 20.1%, and the market is relatively scattered. The Group ranked third in 2025, with a shipment volume of 993,000 tons and a market share of 3.0%.

Board Information

The Board consists of 10 directors, including 5 executive directors, 1 non-executive director and 4 independent non-executive directors. With the exception of one employee representative director elected by the employee congress, all directors are elected by the shareholders' meeting for a term of three years and can be re-elected. The main powers and functions of the board of directors include, but are not limited to, convening shareholders' meetings, submitting reports to shareholders' meetings, implementing resolutions passed at shareholders' meetings and the Group's investment plans, determining the Group's basic management system, formulating the Group's profit distribution plan and loss compensation plan, and exercising other powers and functions conferred by the company's articles of association.

Shareholding structure

As of the last practical date (August 21, 2026), Mr. Feng Hailiang (that is, Mr. Feng's father) has an interest in about 30.11% of the company's total issued share capital, including (1) 2.61% directly held by Mr. Feng Hailiang, (2) 26.96% held by Hailiang Group, and (3) 0.54% held by Zhejiang Zhengmao. Hailiang Group and Zhejiang Zhengmao were ultimately controlled by Mr. Feng Hailiang. In addition to the 10,000,000 A-shares that have been repurchased and held as treasury shares in the company's share repurchase account by the last practical date, Mr. Feng Hailiang controls about 30.24% of the company's voting rights.

Intermediary team

Co-sponsors: China International Finance Hong Kong Securities Limited and Guangfa Finance (Hong Kong) Limited;

The company's legal advisors: Hong Kong law and US law: Gao Weishen & Co.; relevant Chinese law: Guo Hao (Hangzhou) firm; relevant international sanctions law: DLA Piper Singapore Pte. Ltd.; relating to Texas law: Pagel, Davis & Hill, P.C.; relating to Delaware law: Potomac Law Group, PLLC; relating to Iowa law: BrownWinick Law Firm; relating to German law: Noerr Partnerschaftsgesellschaft MBb; relating to Thai law: DFDL (Thailand) Limited;

Co-sponsor Legal Adviser: Hong Kong Law and US Law: Haiwen Law Firm Limited Liability Partnership; Related Chinese Law: Shanghai AllBright Law Firm;

Auditor and reporting accountant: Tianjian International Certified Public Accountants Limited;

Industry consultant: Frost & Sullivan (Beijing) Consulting Co., Ltd. Shanghai Branch;

Transfer pricing consultant: PwC Consulting (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. Shanghai Branch;

Compliance Advisor: Maxi Capital Co., Ltd.