Speed racer
Zeekr zooms to an IPO
Good morning, backseat drivers. This is your Stock Market Rundown for November 22nd, 2023. Thank you so much for reading. Let’s get rolling:
TODAY’S TOP STORY: CHINESE HOT WHEELS 🚗
For Americans, the most familiar electric vehicles have names like Tesla Model X and Nissan Leaf. But there’s a new EV in town, with a name that sounds suspiciously like a dating website: Zeekr.
Founded in 2021, Zeekr has already delivered 100,000 cars to drivers battling traffic on China’s highways. Thanks to that rapid ramp-up, Zeekr’s last financing round valued it at $13 billion.
The carmaker’s newest EV model is the 007 sedan. Despite the name, it doesn’t resemble James Bond’s BMW Z3 roadster. However, it does boast an innovative all-glass roof—great for a sunny Sunday drive, not so great if there are any pigeons flying overhead.
Zeekr’s owner, Chinese car manufacturer Geely Auto, is now angling to take it public in the US. It’s set to be the first major Chinese IPO in the US in nearly two years, due to drama in the Washington-Beijing business partnership.
In recent years, US authorities have tightened listing standards for Chinese firms seeking to list on US exchanges. And the SEC warned corporate China that audits had to be more than just a thumbs-up emoji.
Happily, things thawed out when a deal was reached to give US accounting watchdogs the ability to investigate US-listed firms operating in China. Capitalism, onward!
The millions raised through Zeekr’s US listing will be used for its global expansion plans—it already has a showroom in Stockholm. Time will tell whether the 007 will handle hairpin turns on icy Swedish roads as well as it does in its hometown of Zhejiang.
SO WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?
Solar panel prices have collapsed due to a glut of Asian factories pumping ‘em out. Exciting news for anybody who wants to rig up their rural hideout cabin to go fully off-grid.
The New York Times reported a strong quarter thanks to a recovering ad market and booming subscription sales. Their biggest moneymakers, of course, are crossword puzzles, sudoku, and Wordle.
A surge in the price of Bitcoin has led to to Bitcoin ATMs popping up at malls and gas stations across the nation, providing convenient service for money launderers and drug dealers.
Meta will require advertisers to disclose when AI is used to create election-related ads. Pro tip: if you see a political ad where Donald Trump is riding a unicorn across a rainbow, assume it’s fake.
That's today's scoop, friends; see you tomorrow at our usual morning timeslot for another round. Yours in capitalism, The Axe