On February 4, the China Securities Regulatory Commission approved the registration application for Zhejiang Zhongxin Fluorochemicals Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as 'Zhongxin Fluorochemicals') to issue shares to specific objects. The planned number of shares to be issued is 9,804,955, with the intention to list on the main board of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

This 'National Specialized, Refined, and Innovative Little Giant Enterprise' headquartered in the Shangyu Economic and Technological Development Zone of Hangzhou Bay plans to raise a total of 186 million yuan. After deducting relevant issuance expenses, the funds are planned to be invested in a construction project for the annual production of 2,000 tons of BPEF, 500 tons of BPF, and 1,000 tons of 9-fluorenone products, as well as to supplement working capital.

Zhongxin Fluorochemicals stated that among the investment projects for the raised funds, the construction project for the annual production of 2,000 tons of BPEF, 500 tons of BPF, and 1,000 tons of 9-fluorenone products represents an expansion and supplement of the company's existing optical material products. This is a significant adaptive measure taken by the company in light of its future development plans and market demand. Supplementing working capital can provide financial security for the company's future business development, enhance its sustained profitability, and optimize its capital structure.

This move, while appearing to be a routine capacity expansion, clearly marks a crucial move by Zhongxin Fluorochemicals on its chessboard of the entire fluorine fine chemical industry chain. It also reflects the strategic intention of the domestic optical materials industry to accelerate its breakthrough into high-end fields.

From the perspective of the optical industry, the BPEF, BPF, and 9-fluorenone involved in Zhongxin Fluorochemicals' fundraising and investment project are all crucial monomers or intermediates in the field of high-performance optical polymer materials. For example, BPEF is a core raw material for synthesizing optical-grade polycarbonate and epoxy resin with high refractive index, high transparency, and high heat resistance. These materials are widely used in high-end mobile phone lenses, automotive cameras, security surveillance lenses, and AR/VR optical devices.

Currently, the global high-end optical materials market has long been dominated by a few international chemical giants. Although the domestic industry continues to grow in scale, there are still supply gaps in cutting-edge fields such as electronic-grade ultra-high-purity optical monomers.

Leveraging its cost and supply chain stability advantages built through its in-depth layout (layout) from fluorite resources to hydrogen fluoride and then to fine chemicals, Zhongxin Fluorochemicals is precisely investing the raised funds in the expansion and supplement of its existing optical material products, targeting this critical window of opportunity for domestic substitution.

This is not just a quantitative leap from a thousand-ton scale to a three-thousand-ton scale in terms of its own production capacity; it is also a qualitative tackle key problems (assault on a key stronghold) to deepen its product structure's penetration into higher-value-added electronic-grade and optical-grade markets. The strategic significance of this move for the company itself is self-evident.

Upon project completion, Zhongxin Fluorochemicals will consolidate its leading position in the field of fluorene-based specialty materials in China and significantly enhance its support capabilities and market influence for downstream industries such as optical resins, high-end displays, and semiconductor photoresists.

By supplementing its core optical material production capacity, Zhongxin Fluorochemicals can more closely bind to the rapidly growing downstream terminal markets such as consumer electronics, new energy vehicles, and 5G communications, opening up a more imaginative growth curve for its strategic blueprint of 'Fluorine Fine Chemicals +'. Meanwhile, abundant working capital will also enable it to engage in continuous R&D innovation and market expansion.

For the optical industry, Zhongxin Fluorochemicals' expansion move sends a positive supply chain signal. Against the backdrop of global industrial chain restructuring and the pursuit of technological self-reliance, domestic optical component and module manufacturers have an increasingly urgent demand for high-performance, high-stability domestically produced raw materials.

A local enterprise with full industrial chain capabilities and technological accumulation scaling up its involvement in the high-end optical monomer field will help enhance the overall vertical integration and supply chain security of the domestic optical industry. Its successful mass production and quality compliance will provide downstream lens manufacturers and display panel makers with more diverse and reliable localized options, reducing their dependence on specific import channels, and thereby enhancing the overall competitiveness of Chinese optical manufacturing in industrial collaboration.