June 9, 2022: -On Wednesday, shares of electric vehicle maker BYD increased after a senior executive said in an interview with Chinese state media that the company is set to supply batteries to Tesla “very soon.”

“We’re good friends with Elon Musk because we’re preparing to supply batteries to Tesla very soon,” BYD Vice President Lian Yubo said during an interview with Chinese state media anchor Kate Kui.

According to the most delinquent annual report, rechargeable batteries and photovoltaics made up 7.29% of BYD’s revenue pool in 2021, dwarfed by the above 50% share of automobiles and related products.

On Wednesday, Hong Kong-listed shares of BYD bounced 2.79%, mirroring broader positive sentiment in tech as the Hang Seng Tech index advanced 4.76% to 4,818.36. Shares of other Chinese EV makers in Hong Kong increased, with Nio up 5.07% while Xpeng streamed 6.13%.

Mainland-listed shares of Chinese battery maker and Tesla supplier Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) plunged more than 7% during Wednesday trading before bouncing back to close 0.218% higher. CATL had around 25% of the global EV battery market share in 2020, far earlier than BYD’s 7%, according to Nomura research.

Elsewhere in Asia, shares of Panasonic in Japan declined 0.78%, while South Korea’s LG Energy Solution declined 1.5%. Both companies also supply batteries to Tesla.