Battery maker CATL plans recycling facility

CONTEMPORARY Amperex Technology Co. (CATL) plans to build a battery material recycling facility in the central Chinese province of Hubei with an investment of up to 32 billion yuan (US$4.96 billion), the electric-vehicle battery maker said yesterday.

The company’s announcement comes at a time when global demand for electric vehicles has surged, which makes securing battery materials a key task for the industry. A CATL unit will form a joint venture with Hubei Yihua Chemical Industry Co. to recycle used electric vehicle batteries for chemicals such as cobalt and lithium.

Alibaba’s low valuation lures buyers

SHARES of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. have made an impressive recovery over the past week, after a lower-than-expected fine for Meituan added to a growing list of positive factors for the battered tech giant.

Alibaba’s Hong Kong-listed stock has climbed 24 percent since hitting a record low Oct. 5, after having “gotten very cheap,” according to James Cordwell, an analyst at Atlantic Equities LLP. Alibaba trades at 17 times forward earnings estimates, compared with a multiple of 25 for Tencent Holdings Ltd. and 39 for JD.com Inc. Tencent shares have gained 10 percent since a week ago.

Horgos handles 4,900 China-Europe freight trains

HORGOS in northwestern China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region had handled 4,900 China-Europe freight trains this year as of Sunday, according to local railway authorities.

The railway department of Horgos said that, from January to September, the port handled 4,748 China-Europe freight trains, up 34.3 percent year on year. The total rail freight volume in Horgos, China’s closest port to Central Asia and Europe by land transport, reached 6.8 million tons, up 48.5 percent year on year.

Electricity curbs may hit export growth

CHINA’S export growth likely slowed in September as electricity rationing hit production at home, while a shift in consumption towards services as developed economies reopened likely reduced global appetite for Chinese goods, a Reuters poll showed yesterday.

Exports are expected to have risen 21 percent in September from a year earlier, according to the median forecast of 30 economists in the poll, after growing 25.6 percent in August. Imports also slowed, while China’s trade surplus narrowed, the poll showed.