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]
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