FAST NEWS: Leapmotor co-founder boosts company holdings

The Latest: Fu Liquan, co-founder and second-largest shareholder of Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology Co. Ltd. (9863.HK), purchased about 3.75 million of the company’s shares between Sept. 4 and Sept. 9, raising his stake in the electric vehicle (EV) maker from 18.16% to 18.49%, according to a new Hong Kong Stock Exchange filing.

Looking Up: Fu increased his stake shortly after Leapmotor announced its interim results, suggesting he is confident in the company’s prospects.

Take Note: Leapmotor’s shares are down 36% year-to-date. Fu’s buying of new shares may show his confidence, but the volume of those purchases is unlikely to boost the stock price.

Digging Deeper: Leapmotor was established in 2015 by its founding group and defense technology company Zhejiang Dahua Technology (002236.SZ). It has launched five car models since 2019, targeting the mid- to high-end of China’s EV market. It was the country’s 10th largest manufacturer with 144,555 units sold last year, the same year it listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. However, it has yet to turn a profit due to its high costs, and has accumulated losses of more than 14 billion yuan ($1.97 billion) over the five years. Its revenue jumped by more than half to 8.85 billion yuan ($1.24 billion) in the first half of this year, but it continued to post a loss of 2.21 billion yuan.

Market Reaction: Leapmotor’s shares fell on Thursday and closed down 1.1% at HK$22.75 by the midday break. The stock now trades at the lower end of its 52-week range.

Translation by A. Au

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