Li Auto, a Chinese electric vehicle maker backed by mainland online services delivery giant Meituan Dianping, has priced its American depositary receipts at US$11.5 each in an initial public offering on Nasdaq that will raise about U$1.1 billion for the firm to expand in the world's biggest car market, according to a person familiar with the matter.The IPO by the Beijing-based start-up, which designs and makes electric SUVs, looks set to be the largest fundraising by a Chinese company on US exchanges since December 2018 when Tencent Music Entertainment Group raised US$1.07 billion or NIO's US$1.15 billion offer in September 2018, depending on how much of its overallotment option Li Auto exercises, according to data provided by Refinitiv."Electric vehicles will be the largest opportunity for technology start-ups worldwide after smartphones and mobile internet," said Mingming Huang, founding partner at early-stage venture capital firm Future Capital, who was an angel investor in Li Auto and topped up in multiple funding rounds. "EV plus autonomous driving will change the way people travel … the trillion-dollar companies will come from this sector."Li Auto's SUV. Photo: Handout alt=Li Auto's SUV. Photo: HandoutChina's electric car start-ups are tanking up on capital to fuel an intense fight for market share.Xpeng Motors has made a confidential filing for a listing in the US, while New York-listed NIO shares have tripled so far this year. Elsewhere, Zhejiang-based carmaker Geely Automobile Holdings, which makes the Geometry A electric car, said it plans to list on Shanghai's Nasdaq-style Star Market later this year.Investors are keen to jump on the electric-vehicle bandwagon after watching 17-year-old, California-based Tesla overtake Toyota Motor, Volkswagen and Hyundai Motor this year in terms of combined market value to become the world's most valuable carmaker. Tesla sells its Model 3, Model S and Model X in China.Li Auto, founded by serial entrepreneur Xiang Li, is the first company in China to commercialise what is known as extended-range technology for electric vehicles, which helps solve the problem of a lack of charging infrastructure across China and still developing battery technology. If the car's battery runs down then a combustion engine provides electrical power.More than 80 per cent of Chinese car owners do not have their own car parking space which means they cannot install their own charging point, said Future Capital's Huang. Many consumers are still anxious about their car's charge running low with nowhere to top up."Xiang Li has a deep understanding of the preferences and the pain points of car owners in China," said Huang, who has known Li for more than 15 years.While Li Auto still has negative cash flow, the capital-intensive electric vehicle market is at a very early growth stage, still only around 5 per cent of car sales in China. "Its still at a very fast growing and everybody is trying to grab market share," said Huang.Li also founded car internet platform Autohome, which now has a market capitalisation of over US$10 billion on the New York Stock Exchange, which gave many investors the confidence to back his new venture despite fierce competition in the sector.Li Auto and Xpeng have chosen to list in the US despite rising US-China tensions.Legislation passed by the Senate would kick Chinese companies off US stock exchanges unless their audits are open to inspection by US regulators.However, New York still has a far deeper pool of liquidity for start-ups to tap than Greater China, meaning Xpeng and Li Auto could potentially achieve a higher valuation in the US than they would have done closer to home.The company's offer of 95 million ADRs are priced above the marketed range of US$8 to US$10 each due to strong demand among investors. Bookrunners for the deal included investment bankers at CICC, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and UBS.Li Auto's ADR is expected to begin trading on Nasdaq on July 30. One ADR represents two ordinary shares in the company.Asia-focused private equity firm Hillhouse Capital will buy up to US$300 million of the stock at the offer price, according to its prospectus.With the successful completion of the IPO, Li Auto will also privately place new ordinary shares to existing shareholders totalling US$380 million. These shareholders include Meituan Dianping, which through an affiliate owns about 14.5 per cent in the company before the IPO, and ByteDance, the owner of video-sharing social network operator TikTok.Li Auto plans to use proceeds from the share sale to develop manufacturing facilities, research and development of new products, and as working capital.For the three months ended June this year, Li Auto recorded a net loss of 75.2 million yuan (HK$83 million), narrowing it by 2.5 per cent from a net loss of 77.1 million yuan in the first quarter this year.This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2020 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2020. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
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It’s a bearish start to the day for Bitcoin and the broader market. Bitcoin would need to move back through to $11,300 levels to support the pack.
On CNBC's "Mad Money Lightning Round," Jim Cramer said that Ibio Inc (NYSE: IBIO) has an interesting chart. He needs to do more work on the stock.Cramer didn't like the tone of an article about insider selling in Vaxart Inc (NASDAQ: VXRT).Dynatrace Inc (NYSE: DT) has been a winner, but it's a very expensive stock in terms of price-to-earnings ratio, said Cramer. He advised his viewer to stick with the stock.Rosetta Stone Inc (NYSE: RST) is an interesting, good household brand stock, said Cramer. He added that a short-seller recommended the stock as a buy and he sees that as a good sign.Cramer can't recommend Blink Charging Co (NASDAQ: BLNK). He likes Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA).See more from Benzinga * Why Jeff Kilburg Is Bullish On Crude Oil * 'Halftime Report' Traders Discuss MKM's Sell Rating On Target * 'Fast Money Halftime Report' Picks For July 30: Mastercard, XPO And More(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
As you might know, ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) last week released its latest quarterly, and things did not turn out so…
The Euro shot through several barriers during the week, as we even managed to threaten 1.19 on Friday. But then it looks like gravity may be returning.
If a top is forming then the market should stair-step down, first taking out $1966.50 then $1952.30.
Bitcoin closed July at $11,351, according to Messari.