On January 4, 2026, Wanbang Digital Energy Co., Ltd. ("Wanbang Digital Energy"), headquartered in Changzhou, submitted an application for listing on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with J.P. Morgan, Guotai Junan International, and CMB International serving as joint sponsors. As the world's largest intelligent charging equipment supplier (by 2024 revenue and sales volume), its core brand "StarCharge" has become a leading charging operation enterprise in China.

Taking Off from Changzhou: From Auto Distribution to a New Energy Unicorn

Wanbang Digital Energy's growth story began in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province in 2014. At that time, Shao Danwei, who had long been engaged in the auto distribution industry, keenly seized the opportunity brought by the rise of the new energy vehicle industry. She started an internal venture from Wanbang Auto (a well-known auto dealer in East China), led the establishment of Wanbang New Energy Investment Group, and officially entered the charging equipment track, giving birth to the "StarCharge" brand. According to the prospectus, the company's initial team consisted of only 5 people. Against the backdrop of a market dominated by state-owned and central enterprises in the charging sector at that time, it built its R&D and management systems from scratch, gradually laying the foundation for an integrated "production + operation" business model.

In the early stage of transformation, the company established its positioning as a "platform-based enterprise" and the development strategy of the "land model", refusing to rely solely on capital expansion and instead accumulating competitiveness through intensive cultivation of charging facility construction and operation. In 2016, the company obtained angel round financing from China Development Bank Development Fund to accelerate technological R&D and market layout; in September 2020, it completed a 855 million yuan Series A financing, led by funds under China International Capital Corporation (CICC) and Schneider Electric; in May 2021, the Series B financing led by Hillhouse Capital was completed, with a post-investment valuation of 15.5 billion yuan, making it the most valuable unicorn enterprise in Asia's digital energy sector. In May 2024, the company was listed on the "2024 Hurun Global Unicorn Index" with a valuation further rising to 18 billion yuan, growing from a local enterprise in Changzhou to an industry benchmark.

Deepening Business Layout: Dual-Driver Pattern of Charging + Energy Storage

After more than a decade of development, Wanbang Digital Energy has formed three major business segments: "intelligent charging equipment, microgrid systems, and large-scale energy storage systems", building a diversified digital energy solution system. The prospectus clearly states that "by 2024 revenue and sales volume, the company is the world's largest intelligent charging equipment supplier, with global sales exceeding 470,000 units and a market share of 5.3% that year", and it is also "China's first intelligent charging equipment supplier certified by high-end international automakers".

In the core business of charging equipment, the company's product matrix covers the entire range of DC fast charging, AC slow charging, and AC-DC integrated charging piles, covering multiple segmented markets such as public piles and dedicated piles. According to data from the China Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Promotion Alliance, as of the end of September 2025, StarCharge operated 710,000 public charging piles, ranking second in the country with a market share of 15.9%, second only to TELD.

Energy storage and microgrid business have become the company's second growth curve. The prospectus discloses that from 2023 to the first three quarters of 2025, the company has successfully delivered more than 300 microgrid systems, which are applied in various scenarios such as charging stations, industrial parks, and mining areas. Through the "photovoltaic + energy storage + charging" model, it improves the absorption rate of green electricity and reduces users' electricity costs. In the energy storage field, the company's large-scale energy storage business revenue reached 280 million yuan in the first three quarters of 2025, with a capacity utilization rate of 69.5% for commercial and industrial energy storage, forming a synergistic effect with the charging business. In terms of technological R&D, the company's R&D expenditure was 235 million yuan, 344 million yuan, and 247 million yuan in 2023, 2024, and the first three quarters of 2025 respectively, accounting for about 8% of total revenue; as of September 30, 2025, it had accumulated 580 authorized patents, including 246 invention patents, covering core technologies such as vehicle-grid bidirectional interaction, liquid cooling heat dissipation, and dynamic power distribution.

Financial Insight: Profit Pressure Behind Revenue Growth

The continuous expansion of business scale has driven steady revenue growth, but the profit side is facing multiple pressures, showing a pattern of "revenue growth without profit improvement". According to the prospectus, the company's revenue reached approximately 3.474 billion yuan, 4.182 billion yuan, and 3.072 billion yuan in 2023, 2024, and the nine months ended September 30, 2025 respectively, representing a year-on-year increase of 20.4% from 2023 to 2024 and 23.0% in the first three quarters of 2025. The company explained in the prospectus that "the strong revenue growth is mainly driven by the rapid expansion of the intelligent energy industry, the continuous penetration of the new energy vehicle market, the continuous optimization of the customer structure, and the continuous enrichment of product supply and business portfolio".

In terms of profitability indicators, the company's profitability has declined continuously. During the same period, the profits were 493 million yuan, 336 million yuan, and 301 million yuan respectively, with a year-on-year decrease of 31.9% in net profit in 2024; the gross profit margin dropped from 33.4% in 2023 to 29.2% in 2024, and further to 24.6% in the first three quarters of 2025, a decrease of 8.8 percentage points in two years and nine months. The prospectus does not directly explain the reason for the decline in gross profit margin, but combined with industry background analysis, it is mainly related to the increase in raw material costs, the intensification of competition in the charging equipment industry, and the adjustment of business structure. It is worth noting that the company recorded a one-time gain of 196 million yuan from asset transfer in the first three quarters of 2025, accounting for 58.4% of the pre-tax profit during the same period, which boosted the short-term profitability to a certain extent.

Inventory pressure and related party transactions also deserve attention. As of December 31, 2023, December 31, 2024, and September 30, 2025, the company's inventory and other contract costs were 860 million yuan, 979 million yuan, and 1.053 billion yuan respectively, showing a continuous upward trend; the inventory impairment provisions during the same period were 54 million yuan, 90 million yuan, and 93 million yuan respectively. The company admitted in the prospectus that "it cannot guarantee that no major write-offs will occur in the future". In terms of related party transactions, the company has regular transactions with "Wanbang Taiyi" controlled by the controlling shareholder, which is one of the top five customers during the reporting period. The prospectus reminds that "the controlling shareholder has the ability to influence the transaction terms between the two parties, and if it takes actions unfavorable to the listed company, it may affect the operating performance".

Global Breakthrough: Expansion Logic from Chinese Market to World Stage

Based on a solid foundation in the domestic market, Wanbang Digital Energy has accelerated its global layout in recent years, transforming from a "Changzhou enterprise" to a "global digital energy service provider". The prospectus shows that as of September 30, 2025, the company's products and services have been sold to approximately 70 countries and regions around the world, with overseas revenue reaching 573 million yuan, accounting for 18.6% of the total revenue during the same period. The company's management has publicly stated that "currently 80% of the revenue from charging facilities comes from the domestic market, but it is expected that at least half of the gross profit in 2024 will come from overseas business", and the overseas market has become a key engine for the company's profit growth.

Europe is the core position of the company's global expansion. The company established a joint venture, Schneider eStar Holding B.V., with Schneider Electric to jointly promote charging equipment and services under both brands, and quickly entered the European market with the help of Schneider Electric's global channel advantages. In addition to Europe, the company plans to establish marketing and service centers in five key regions: Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, South America, and North America to further improve the global service network. The prospectus clearly states that a considerable proportion of the funds raised from this IPO will be used for "global market expansion", including the establishment of local sales teams and service centers, and the improvement of overseas delivery capabilities.

Behind the global expansion is the vigorous development of China's new energy charging facility industry and policy support. Data from the National Energy Administration shows that by the end of 2024, the total number of charging facilities in China reached 12.818 million, a year-on-year increase of 49%; the annual charging volume exceeded 110 billion kilowatt-hours, a year-on-year growth rate of 38%. At the policy level, documents such as the "Guiding Opinions on Further Building a High-Quality Charging Infrastructure System" and the "Safety Requirements for Electric Vehicle Power Supply Equipment" have been successively issued, providing planning guidance and standard support for the industry's development, and laying an industrial foundation for Wanbang Digital Energy's global layout.

Risks and Challenges: A Must-Course for Unicorn's Growth

Despite Wanbang Digital Energy's strong industry competitiveness, it will still face multiple risks and challenges after the Hong Kong IPO. The prospectus highlights four major risks: first, policy dependence risk. In 2023, 2024, and the first three quarters of 2025, the government subsidies obtained by the company were 64 million yuan, 73 million yuan, and 49 million yuan respectively. "Any uncertainty or delay in the collection of government subsidies may have an adverse impact on the terminal market of the company's products"; second, industry competition risk. There are many participants in the domestic charging equipment market, with fierce competition among leading enterprises such as TELD, StarCharge, and Yunchongkuai, while the overseas market faces challenges from international brands; third, technological iteration risk. The technology of new energy charging and energy storage is updating rapidly. If the company fails to continuously invest in R&D, it may lose its technological leading edge; fourth, inventory turnover risk. Fluctuations and extensions in inventory turnover days may have a significant adverse impact on the company's cash flow and working capital position.

Regarding this Hong Kong IPO, the company clearly stated the use of raised funds in the prospectus: mainly for R&D center construction and technological innovation, global market expansion, capacity improvement of production facilities in Changzhou and Yancheng, strategic investment and mergers and acquisitions, and supplementary working capital.NewTimeSpace Research believe that this capital operation will help the company consolidate its leading position as a global charging equipment supplier and accelerate the expansion of energy storage and microgrid businesses. However, the profit dilemma of "revenue growth without profit improvement", the continuous decline in gross profit margin, and the uncertainty of overseas expansion will remain the focus of market attention. From its start in Changzhou to its listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the growth path of this Chinese new energy unicorn has just entered a new stage.

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