CHINA’S stock market darling Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. (CATL) is close to overtaking a State-owned lender to become the nation’s second-largest listed company.

With a market capitalization of more than 1.55 trillion yuan (US$242 billion) yesterday, the Tesla supplier is just a 1 percent climb away from surpassing Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (ICBC) at 1.57 trillion yuan. Both lag distiller Kweichow Moutai Co.’s 2.27 trillion yuan market cap.

Based in China’s southeastern Fujian Province, CATL is the world’s largest manufacturer of power batteries and materials and also counts auto giants Daimler, BMW, BAIC Motor Corp. as among its customers.

It has surged 90 percent this year as the bellwether of China’s electric autos supply chain amid the government’s vigorous support for green vehicles and carbon neutrality.

The company accounts for a 21 percent weighting in China’s Nasdaq-style ChiNext Index.

Third-quarter earnings of CATL beat expectations as strong pricing power allowed the company pass on costs and improve margins despite inflation, analysts said.

Analysts see further gains of CATL’s shares ahead amid robust orders and rising market share. CICC analysts including Tao Zeng lifted their price target to 800 yuan compared with Friday’s close of just 639.22 yuan.

CATL has replaced Kweichow Moutai as the stock most held by mutual fund managers, according to a recent Shanghai Securities News report. Its shares are up more than 2550 percent from its mid-2018 initial public offering, with stock placements and lock-up expiries yet to affect the upward trajectory.

Shares of Shenzhen-listed CATL closed up 1.69 percent yesterday after climbing 6.22 percent to hit an all-time high of 679 yuan. (SD-Agencies)