(Yicai Global) June 27 -- Shenzhen-listed GEM, China’s biggest battery recycler, said it has secured the green light from the country’s securities regulator for a secondary listing in Switzerland.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission gave its approval for GEM to issue up to 478 million new Chinese mainland shares, which will become about 47.8 million Global Depositary Shares listed on the Six Swiss Exchange, the firm said in a statement yesterday. The listing is still subject to approval by the European country’s securities watchdog and the bourse, GEM added.

GEM said previously that the proceeds of the share sale would be used to fund nickel-ore projects abroad, including the construction of a facility in Hungary, the development of overseas battery materials projects, and the firm’s internationalization, as well as supplement its working capital.

The Shenzhen-based company signed a cooperation memorandum with the Consulate General of Hungary in Shanghai to build a battery recycling plant in the central European country that will reuse materials with high nickel content for new batteries, it said on May 17.

Eight Chinese firms have set out plans for GDR sales in Switzerland after the CSRC announced an expansion of the Shanghai-London Stock Connect scheme in February to include eligible businesses listed in Shenzhen, Switzerland, and Germany.

GEM has built 16 facilities across China to process waste, including vehicle batteries. Shipments of its core product, ternary precursor materials for power packs, ranked among the global top three, according to the firm’s 2021 annual report.

Shares of GEM [SHE: 002340] dipped 0.4 percent in Shenzhen today to close at CNY9.37 (USD1.40) apiece. The stock has declined 9.5 percent since the start of this year.

Editor: Futura Costaglione