I. Overview of Huayou Cobalt

Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Huayou" or "the Company"), established in 2002, headquartered in the Tongxiang Economic Development Zone, Zhejiang, listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2015, is a high-tech enterprise focusing on the research and development, manufacturing of new energy lithium battery materials, and cobalt new materials. The company, with a current workforce of 30,000, has grown into a multinational corporation with an annual revenue exceeding 60 billion, ranking among the top 500 enterprises in China.

Since the 13th Five-Year Plan, Huayou has been steadfast on the transformation path of "controlling resources upstream, expanding markets downstream, enhancing capabilities midstream," intensifying its efforts and deepening its "going global" strategy. In over a dozen countries and regions including Zimbabwe, Morocco in Africa, Indonesia, South Korea in Asia, Hungary in Europe, and Argentina in South America, Huayou has laid out its global industrial plan, establishing a cross-national operation model of overseas resources, domestic manufacturing, and global markets. Stretching its branches along the "Belt and Road," growing its roots, Huayou bravely ventured out, remained committed, and successfully made its way back, contributing to the high-quality development of Zhejiang's "sweet potato economy."

II. Huayou's Practice in the "Sweet Potato Economy"

What defines Huayou? It's "roots in China," and "friends all over the world."

(I) Rooted in China, Enlarging and Solidifying the "Sweet Potato Tuber"

Currently, Huayou relies on its leading domestic independent core technologies in fields such as non-ferrous metal green refining, lithium and sodium battery precursors and cathode materials, recycling, green intelligent manufacturing, etc., establishing major manufacturing bases in Tongxiang and Quzhou in Zhejiang, Yulin in Guangxi, and Chengdu in Sichuan. The company leads globally in the production and sales scale of ternary lithium battery materials and cobalt new materials.

Huayou, born and grown in Tongxiang, has received care and support from local leaders at all levels and from all sectors of society, always remembering its gratitude towards its hometown. Huayou's 14th Five-Year Plan strategic planning puts forth, with Tongxiang serving as the global headquarters in its spatial layout. In July 2022, the construction of the Huayou headquarters building commenced; in December 2022, the green intelligent manufacturing project for lithium battery materials settled in Tongxiang, as a significant move to further strengthen Huayou's headquarters' industrial base; Concurrently, the construction of the global R&D center in Tongxiang began, serving as the global brain of the company's industry.

(II) Friends All Over the World, Extending the "Sweet Potato Vines"

As early as 2003, for the safety of the domestic cobalt industry supply chain, Huayou entered the Democratic Republic of Congo, home to the world's richest cobalt reserves, establishing its first overseas mining and metallurgical integrated manufacturing base. This low-cost resource support has propelled the company's development over 20 years.

In recent years, the company has partnered with internationally renowned enterprises such as LGC, POSCO, Volkswagen (China), Ford, PT Vale Indonesia Tbk, not only breaking through the bottleneck of domestic nickel and cobalt resource scarcity affecting the supply security of the lithium battery industry chain but also by engaging in comprehensive cooperation in new energy lithium battery material product technology research and development, market expansion, etc., aiming to build a competitive international new energy lithium battery material industry chain. By the end of 2023, the company has invested in upstream mineral development and downstream integrated material manufacturing and comprehensive utilization projects in over ten countries and regions including Indonesia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Korea, with a total investment exceeding 9 billion USD (including applications in progress, under Huayou's equity).

Reflecting on the 20 years of "going global" entrepreneurial and innovative experience, Chairman Chen Xuehua summarized three high-quality "going global" experiences:

I. Sustainable development must be adhered to. Regardless of the location, Huayou firmly implements a low-carbon, environmentally friendly, and sustainable development philosophy. For example, the Indonesian Huayue project, with an investment of 1.28 billion USD, adopting the world's most advanced third-generation high-pressure acid leaching technology, reducing carbon emissions per product unit to only one-tenth of traditional projects, with technological innovations allowing for two-thirds of the plant's total electricity consumption to come from waste heat power generation, and a steam recycling rate of 75%. The high-quality completion and operation of the Huayue project have become a model for Chinese enterprises' sustainable development in Indonesia.

II. A localization strategy must be adhered to. Wherever it invests, Huayou contributes to the local economic and social development, reflecting the company's investment philosophy. As of the end of 2023, Huayou has more than 20,000 foreign employees, with local employees in Indonesia accounting for over 80%. In 2022, Huayou led a collaboration with Northeastern University in China, the Maritime and Investment Affairs of Republic of Indonesia, and Indonesian universities such as Bandung Institute of Technology, Gadjah Mada University, Ujung Pandang Institute of Technology, training local talent at various levels. In Asia, Africa, and Europe, Huayou actively fulfills its social responsibilities, participates in community construction, integrates into the local community, benefits the local populace, becoming a part of the local fabric, and working hand in hand with the host country and locality for mutual development and prosperity.

III. High-level cooperation must be adhered to. Wherever it invests, Huayou always practices the philosophy of Win-win Cooperation for a Shared Future. In Indonesia, for example, Huayou has comprehensive cooperation with Tsingshan, engaging in park construction and several joint venture projects; it has also embarked on diverse international industry and park project collaborations with renowned companies such as Ford, LG, PT Vale, and notable local Indonesian enterprises. High-level open cooperation has propelled Huayou's high-level development.

Looking ahead, the company will extend and expand the "sweet potato vines," taking the high-quality joint construction of the "Belt and Road" as an opportunity, adhering to sustainable development, localization strategy, and high-level cooperation. By advancing steadily on the increasingly broad "Belt and Road," aiming for a promising future, expanding cooperation with high-end international customers, carrying out high-quality global project investments and constructions, jointly building industry chains, seeking significant development, contributing to the supply chain security and healthy development of China's new energy vehicle lithium battery material industry, and contributing to the global development of the new energy vehicle industry as well as the goals of peaking carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality.