The China Securities Regulatory Commission began to review Chinese car and battery maker BYD's application for a share offering on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
Shenzhen-based BYD reported revenues of 48.4 billion yuan in 2010 and an accumulated growth of 32 percent over the past three years. The company had 53.9 billion yuan in assets and more than 18.4 billion yuan in net assets by the end of 2010. But its revenues from auto sales increased only 1.56 percent while its gross profit margin slid to 20.91 percent from 25.09 percent in 2009.
According to its prospectus submitted to securities regulator on Friday, BYD plans to issue up to 79 million shares on the Shenzhen market, and the proceeds will be used to fund new car models' development and auto part production.
Warren Buffet, who holds a stake in BYD, said at Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholders meeting that he was confident in BYD as well as its president Wang Chuanfu. "Any company that develops at a high speed like BYD will evidently suffer various small setbacks during its development," Buffet said.