Chinese EV maker Xiaomi raises US$5.5 billion from share sale to accelerate expansion

Chinese tech firm Xiaomi raised HK$42.5 billion (US$5.5 billion) from a share sale to fund the expansion of its electric vehicle (EV) business, just weeks after rival BYD amassed US$5.59 billion from a similar deal.

The Beijing-based maker of consumer electronics and EVs sold 800 million shares at HK$53.25 each to a company linked to its founder and chairman Lei Jun, who subsequently placed them with institutional and individual investors, according to a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Tuesday.

The offer price represented a 6.6 per cent discount to the closing price on Monday and the shares sold accounted for about 3.2 per cent of the existing issued share capital of the company.

Xiaomi was earlier looking to sell 750 million shares at HK$52.80 to HK$54.60 apiece, according to Bloomberg.

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The proceeds from the share sale would be used to accelerate Xiaomi’s business expansion, investments in research and development (R&D) and for other general corporate purposes, the company said.