Failed to list subsidiary after 5 years, ChiNext "001" aims for Hong Kong stock IPO

China Energy Network has learned that on February 26, “the first stock on the ChiNext Board” Trina Solar (SZ: 300001) announced that the company plans to apply for listing on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, initiating an “A+H” dual-platform capital strategy.

Trina Solar was founded in 2004 by electrical expert Yu Dexiang. It listed on the ChiNext in 2009, becoming the first ChiNext stock with the ticker “001.” Initially, the company’s business involved the production and sales of various box-type substations for railways. It has now become China’s leading outdoor box-type power equipment integrator and the world’s largest manufacturer of high-voltage prefabricated substation modules.

In its prospectus, Trina Solar states that its high-voltage prefabricated modular substations and new energy box transformers hold the top market share in the new energy generation field. Its mid-to-high-end box-type power equipment products have achieved leading positions in the Chinese railway market and certain regional power markets. Its subsidiary, Teld, is China’s largest manufacturer of electric vehicle charging equipment and charging network operator.

Since 2020, Trina Solar has been promoting the spin-off and listing of Teld. However, after more than five years, the dream of going public remains unfulfilled. Now, Trina Solar is taking a new approach by jointly listing with Teld in Hong Kong, aiming to give investors, partners, and the entrepreneurial team an explanation.

Five years of spin-off efforts with no listing outcome

In 2014, Trina Solar established Teld with 600 million yuan in funding, marking its second entrepreneurial venture in the charging pile sector. Teld was among the earliest private new energy charging companies in China and quickly rose to industry leadership within a few years.

By 2018, Teld held 40% of the market share and became a leader in charging station operations. Based on 2023 and 2024 revenue, public charging terminal numbers, annual charging volume, and total charging power, Teld ranked first nationwide. As of December 2025, Teld operated 898,755 public charging stations, with an 18.88% market share, maintaining industry leadership.

In December 2020, Trina Solar began preliminary preparations for Teld’s spin-off and listing, completing guidance and filing procedures. At that time, domestic charging infrastructure was booming, and Teld’s listing plan attracted significant market attention.

In March 2022, Teld announced a plan to list on the STAR Market. Trina Solar aimed to make Teld an independent platform focused on new energy vehicle charging network business, leveraging STAR Market financing to strengthen capital.

However, no substantial progress has been announced since then. Now, with the Hong Kong listing plan announced, it indicates that the spin-off plan for Teld has been abandoned—according to HKEX regulations, “a parent company cannot spin off a subsidiary within three years of listing.”

Main operational data of Teld (Source: company website)

Nevertheless, if Trina Solar successfully lists in Hong Kong, it effectively achieves a “backdoor” listing for Teld. This five-year-long journey to go public is being completed in a different way, providing an explanation to all parties. Once listed successfully, both Trina Solar and Teld can breathe a sigh of relief.

First, it provides investors with an explanation and alleviates shareholder exit pressure.

Between 2020 and 2021, Teld completed Series A and two strategic financings, raising a total of 1.95 billion yuan, attracting capital from Guotai Fund, Guoxin Capital, GIC, China Three Gorges Corporation, Jushi Group, State Power Investment Corporation, EVE Energy, and others. Many institutional investors entered as financial investors, expecting to profit significantly after the company’s listing.

However, Teld’s delayed listing caused investor patience to wear thin. Typically, investment fund cycles are about five years. Since 2024, some investors like Guoxin Capital and Xiamen Junrui Junqu have exited through transfer or buyback arrangements. These exit demands have put pressure on Teld.

Second, competition in the charging sector has become fierce, and Teld needs to accumulate “ammunition.”

According to the China Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Promotion Alliance, as of December 2025, the top three operators in charging pile numbers are Teld (899,000), Star Charge (732,000), and CloudQuickCharge (700,000). Their market shares are similar, but Teld’s utilization rate is slightly lower than Star Charge’s. In Q3 2025, Teld’s utilization rate was 9.5%-10.2%, compared to 10.5% from January to July 2025 for Star Charge.

In the intense competition, Teld’s service fees in cities like Hefei and Wuhan have dropped to 0.16-0.25 yuan per kWh, the lowest among the top three operators and well below the industry average of 0.25-0.35 yuan per kWh. To win price wars, Teld needs more capital for competition.

Third, under a heavy asset model, the parent company is unable to continue funding.

Yu Dexiang stated that from 2014 to 2019, Trina Solar invested over 5 billion yuan to build Teld’s network. After nine years of losses, Teld’s performance remains unstable—only turning profitable in 2023 (1.72 billion yuan) and 2024 (2.91 billion yuan). However, in the first half of 2025, it recorded a loss of 4.16 million yuan. As of 2025, Teld’s debt ratio exceeds 73%.

With high debt and performance pressures, the parent company faces significant challenges in continuing to fund Teld. Raising funds through capital markets is much cheaper. Listing in Hong Kong also opens new opportunities for international expansion.

Overall listing offers greater potential

Teld’s failed spin-off was due to multiple reasons. First, it faced opposition from many retail investors. After the plan was announced, many expressed concerns on stock forums. Retail investors worry that spinning off Teld, a promising asset, would significantly lower Trina Solar’s overall valuation.

Additionally, regulations stipulate that a listed subsidiary in A-shares cannot have net assets exceeding 30% of the parent, nor net profit exceeding 50%. As Teld is a core subsidiary, its asset and profit ratios are approaching or may soon reach these limits, making regulatory approval unlikely.

Moreover, despite Teld’s leading market share, it still faces profitability challenges common in the charging industry. In 2024, Teld’s profit of 291 million yuan included 178 million yuan from government subsidies. With the phased reduction of nationwide EV subsidies in 2026 and the market-oriented electricity pricing reform starting in March 2026, Teld’s charging operation profits may decline further.

In contrast, the parent company, Trina Solar, has shown strong performance. China Energy Network notes that in 2022, Trina Solar achieved a net profit attributable to shareholders of 272 million yuan, up 45.43%; in 2023, 491 million yuan, up 80.44%; in 2024, a record high of 917 million yuan, up 86.62%; and in the first three quarters of 2025, 686 million yuan, up 53.55%, reaching new performance highs.

Notably, Trina Solar’s debt ratio has also decreased, reaching 64.45% at the end of Q3 2025, down over 13 percentage points from 76.52% in 2019.

Using Trina Solar as the main entity for Hong Kong listing has a much higher success rate than pushing for Teld’s IPO, making it a more reliable option. This is likely the optimal solution after weighing various factors. An overall listing could unlock new growth opportunities.

According to the prospectus, a key focus of the Hong Kong fundraising is the development of prefabricated substation modules for data center power supply, which feature high-voltage 110/220kV AC input and 800V DC output capabilities.

Amid the huge demand driven by AI computing power, data centers, and renewable energy grid integration, the global power infrastructure is entering a super cycle. The high-voltage prefabricated substation market is expected to reach 52.6 billion yuan, with a compound annual growth rate of 45.2% from 2024 to 2030, according to Zhuoshi Consulting.

Additionally, Trina Solar actively responds to China’s “Belt and Road” initiative, expanding overseas markets. Listing in Hong Kong will support its international development.

Currently, Trina Solar’s products are sold in over 60 countries and regions worldwide, forming core marketing networks in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Europe, and Africa. In the first half of 2025, overseas contracts totaled about 1 billion yuan, an 84% increase from the previous year. The proportion of overseas revenue in total revenue rose from 3.1% in 2024 to 9.5% in the first three quarters of 2025.

“We are deeply involved in building new power systems and provide key equipment for the network hubs of these systems. Relying on our leading domestic intelligent manufacturing capabilities and mature, reliable technical solutions, we are accelerating internationalization efforts to play an important role in global new power system construction,” Trina Solar stated in the prospectus.

Author’s note: Personal opinions are for reference only.