CATL has selected Hong Kong as the base for its sixth research and Watch Nice Sisterdevelopment facility outside of mainland China and Germany. It happened at a time when the Asian financial hub unveiled a fiscal stimulus package aimed at boosting the adoption of electric vehicles. The Chinese battery giant said on Tuesday the center, located in the Hong Kong Science Park, will house as many as 200 scientists and engineers, with plans to start 75 R&D projects and work with local universities. The opening comes one day ahead of the Hong Kong administration announcement of a HK$750 million ($97 million) budget to finance the purchase of electric vehicles by local taxi and bus fleets. City leader John Lee also unveiled a plan to facilitate the availability of 200,000 parking spaces with EV chargers by mid-2027. CATL last December announced it will invest more than HK$1 billion ($128 million) to make Hong Kong its international headquarters. [TechNode reporting, South China Morning Post]
