TU-TESL

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According to foreign media reports, Korean anode material manufacturers plan to acquire the precursor production line of STM, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung SDI, in Weishan, and establish a production vertical integration system to enable them to produce precursor and anode materials by themselves. It is understood that Cosmo is currently negotiating with the acquisition, and it is expected to complete the acquisition as early as the end of the year or early next year. Cosmo is committed to the production of positive materials for LCO, and will focus on NCM materials for power batteries in 2018. In August 2019, Cosmo plans to invest 36.6 million US dollars (about 260 million yuan) to expand the production capacity of high nickel materials, from the current annual output of 3000 tons to 8000 tons, and later to 15000 tons / year according to the market situation. The acquisition of STM will be combined with Cosmo's investment to further expand its NCM cathode materials business and improve production efficiency and profitability. "We are currently discussing in-house the purchase of equipment as the demand for precursors is increasing due to the full expansion of our NCM materials. ” the representative of Cosmo said, "we are discussing the details of the operation. ” STM is a joint venture established in 2011 by Samsung fine chemicals, a subsidiary of Samsung SDI, and Japan's Hotan industry, which mainly produces NCM cathode materials and precursors. In September 2015, Samsung SDI acquired all the shares of STM held by Samsung fine chemical; in December of the same year, it acquired the shares held by Hutian industry. So far, STM has become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung SDI. It is worth noting that STM has stopped production of precursors since August 2018, focusing on the production of positive materials, because it believes that the cost of self-production is high and the economic value is not as good as buying directly from outside. After the production was stopped, Samsung SDI has been considering transforming the corresponding precursor production line of STM into a pilot line of high nickel materials or directly selling. Samsung SDI said that although the company is discussing the sale of idle production equipment, it has yet to reach a final contract with a specific company.