Geely head has major investment in lithium
BEIJING - In a move insiders see as groundwork for new energy vehicles and batteries, the chairman and largest shareholder of automaker Geely has personally invested in the Australian lithium compound company Galaxy Resources.
Geely Chairman Li Shufu's wholly owned investment company Strong Target International has purchased A$30 million ($31.7 million) in Galaxy bonds, while Fengli Group Co, a steel company in Geely's home province of Zhejiang, subscribed to the remainder of the $69 million bond issuance.
According to the noted Chinese-language financial journal 21st Century Business Herald, Galaxy Executive Director Anthony Tse said the resource company's major clients are 13 Chinese enterprises that have a total annual demand for 12,000 tons of lithium, a metal crucial in the manufacturing of high-tech batteries.