GF Xinde Investment, the wholly-owned private equity (PE) investment unit of Chinese investment bank GF Securities, has set up a new RMB-denominated fund to invest 3 billion yuan (almost $450 million) in the new energy industry.
The new fund, which recently completed its registration with the Asset Management Association of China (AMAC), counts the country’s publicly-listed water supply business Zhongshan Public Utilities Group as a key investor, GF Xinde announced in a post on its WeChat official account on Friday.
The RMB fund mainly invests in new energy and related businesses, with a focus on new generation energy storage technologies, hydrogen energy, and other emerging industry opportunities, said the company.
The establishment of the fund marks an important move by GF Xinde to step up its dealmaking around new energy, as China looks to become carbon neutral by 2060. “The fund strategically targets to achieve a balance between generating financial returns and building an industry matrix,” said Zhao Tiexiang, who leads the new energy fund for GF Xinde.
“Our focused sector [new energy] bears great market potential with rising technological revolution opportunities and long-term prospects. GF Xinde will leverage its decade-long equity investment expertise and GF Securities’ strong capital market resources to create synergies with our industry partners and to deeply integrate finance with the industry development, in an attempt to better empower portfolio companies,” said Zhao.
GF Xinde invested in Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Limited (CATL), the world’s biggest electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturer that serves brands including Tesla and Daimler AG, as early as 2015.
Its new energy portfolio includes SVOLT Energy Technology, an up-and-coming EV battery and storage solution provider that closed three big-ticket investments in 2021. GF Xinde-backed Greater Bay Technology, a developer of extreme fast charging (XFC) battery technology, which entered the unicorn club after the completion of its $150-million Series A round in May.
Another investee company WM Motor, an EV brand in China, is said to be weighing an initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong to raise about $1 billion, according to a Bloomberg report earlier this month.
Founded in December 2008 and based in southern China’s Guangzhou City, GF Xinde invests across the fields of healthcare, consumption upgrades, clean energy, smart manufacturing, TMT, and beyond. Its investments span from PE and VC deals to M&A and special situation transactions.