In 2023, Global New Materials International (6616.HK) was fully reaped. Under the development strategy of putting equal emphasis on “endogenous development and epitaxial expansion”, all major tasks took new steps. Product excellence and continuous innovation have also been achieved, and the phased goals of international development have also been achieved. At the beginning of the year, Global New Materials International opened a new chapter in 2024 with a brilliant new product launch conference.
Successfully hosted 2024 with a colorful makeoverbrand newPress conference, products and technology lead the market
This is the first press conference held jointly by the two sides since the Group's merger and acquisition of Korean company CQV. Under the theme of “Technology, Fashion, and Environmental Protection,” a total of 5 new products and technologies were launched, including automotive-grade pearlescent pigments, high-end flaky alumina, pearlescent pigments for solar panels, titanium-free pearlescent pigments, and iron-based matte chameleon pearlescent pigments. The products and technologies involved in these five series are all at the leading level in the industry, fully demonstrating the company's strong R&D strength and product characteristics to the market and customers.
Among them, CQV's flaky alumina production technology has broken through bottlenecks plaguing the entire industry. The aluminium-based series of automotive-grade products can withstand harsh physical and chemical tests, maintain stable color and performance, and are extremely competitive. Special pearlescent pigments for solar panels, titanium-free pearlescent pigments, and iron-based matte chameleon pearlescent pigments can also be innovated on the basis of perfect application to related scenarios, and technology is at the cutting edge of the industry.
The new product has made breakthrough progress in color and application fields, and meets the requirements of green environmental protection, which perfectly explains the company's pursuit of the product's “technology, fashion and environmental protection” concept. At the conference, the company also unveiled 10 international popular colors in 2024, with the aim of providing designers with more creative inspiration and promoting continuous innovation in the fashion industry.
The company said that in the trend of technology, fashion and environmental protection, it will continue to adhere to the spirit of innovation in the future and strive to provide customers with better and more competitive products.
Technology builds solid barriers, and multinational mergers and acquisitions CQV expands product matrix
Global New Materials International has always attached great importance to investment in research and development, which is the key for the company to continue to maintain its ability to innovate and provide the market with higher quality and more competitive products. At the same time, with its mastery of key core technologies for synthetic mica, pearlescent materials, and new energy materials, Global New Materials International has grown into the largest producer of pearlescent pigments in China and the world's largest producer of synthetic mica-based pearlescent pigments.
Up to now, Global New Materials has produced more than 1,000 kinds of pearlescent pigment products. At the same time, the Group continues to optimize the product structure, gradually move closer to the high-end market, and continuously break the high-end production capacity bottleneck. In the first half of 2023, the company's revenue share of synthetic mica-based products has increased to 40%, and revenue from mica-functional fillers has increased by 393%.
In addition, Global New Materials International will also acquire the Korean company CQV in 2023. CQV is a leader in the global pearlescent pigment high-end market. About 75% of its revenue comes from sales contributions from cosmetics grade and automotive grade products, and its products have unique competitiveness in the Korean automobile, NEV, and Asian cosmetics markets.
CQV's automotive-grade product technology is mature. All series of products must pass “exposure and low temperature” tests in harsh environments for at least 3 years and tests of various chemicals to resist chemical erosion. It can not only greatly improve the color effect of the car's exterior and enhance the grade of the car, but also protects the paint from fading and corrosion. In particular, only two companies in the world can produce automotive-grade products with alumina substrates, which are extremely competitive in the market.
According to reports, the production of sheet alumina is a “stuck neck” technology that has plagued the industry for many years. Through independent research and development, CQV has mastered a complete set of core technologies for high-end flake alumina production, and achieved a “zero” technological breakthrough in this field in Asia. Through the integration of CQV, Global New Materials International has become the only company in Asia with a full range of automotive-grade pearlescent pigment product technology, and the products have also successfully entered an internationally renowned automotive paint company.
CQV's alumina-based pearlescent pigments are also widely used in the cosmetic field. The cosmetic grade products newly launched at the press conference have excellent characteristics of being clean and smooth, strong saturation, and high gloss, and have been approved for use in all cosmetics production around the world. According to the official website, CQV has recently passed the quality review of the world-renowned cosmetics brand Estée Lauder.
With the addition of CQV, Global New Materials International's product matrix has been expanded to more than 1,900 types, and its competitiveness in the automotive and cosmetic high-end markets will also be significantly enhanced, helping the company seize growth opportunities in the high-end market. At the same time, with strong technical research and development resources, Global New Materials will become an industry leader with a leading technological advantage in the global pearlescent pigment market.
Actively seize high-end market opportunities, and the prospects are recognized by investors
Because pearlescent pigments have characteristics such as safety and environmental protection, bright colors, and superior performance, they meet the continuous upgrading needs of consumers and gradually replace traditional pigments. Attracted by strong demand at home and abroad, the market size, asset sales and output value of pearlescent pigments, and the number of enterprises in the industry have all increased rapidly. With the intensification of competition in the middle and low end markets and technological progress, the development of the industry to the high-end market with higher added value is an inevitable trend.
According to Frost & Sullivan data, in the pearlescent pigment application market, the automotive grade and cosmetic grade segments are the fastest growing and most promising segments. The five-year compound growth rate from 2020 to 2025 is predicted to reach 26.4% and 21.7%, which is expected to reach 3.75 billion yuan and 7.33 billion yuan respectively in 2025. It is also an important field for pearlescent pigment manufacturers to compete for high-end competition.
Global New Materials International has always adhered to a development strategy that places equal emphasis on “endogenous development and epitaxial expansion”. Through continuous R&D and innovation, it has mastered the synthetic mica production process, and the product structure has continuously moved closer to the high-end market; through mergers and acquisitions of CQV, it has comprehensively improved its competitiveness in the global market and enhanced its voice in the high-end market. The company's development potential and industry prospects are also highly recognized by investors.
On November 20, 2023, Luzhai Seven Color Pearlescent Mica Material Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Global New Materials International, received a cash injection of 1 billion yuan from Tonglu Xincheng Development Investment Co., Ltd. for future business development and/or investment in pearlescent pigments and synthetic mica related industries, reflecting affirmation of the future development prospects of Global New Materials International and will provide a strong impetus for the company's subsequent development.
With strong financial support from domestic and foreign investors, Global New Materials International will continue to explore the development path of international marketization. It is expected to seize the historical opportunities of deep restructuring of the pearlescent pigment industry, continue to lead the pearlescent pigment industry, and achieve the 2024 business plan and the long-term goal of becoming a “leading global surface performance materials enterprise”.