Wanbang Digital shifts to Hong Kong IPO, but its sub-brand "Star Charge" is spun off.

Leading charging station companies are attempting to spin off their heavy asset operation businesses in exchange for a valuation logic with stronger technological attributes.

Recently, Wanbang Digital Energy Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Wanbang Digital") officially submitted its prospectus to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, launching its Hong Kong IPO.

Prior to this, Wanbang Digital had twice initiated IPO counseling but ultimately chose to shift to the Hong Kong market.

Wanbang Digital is most familiar to the consumer market for its electric vehicle charging operation brand "Star Charge," but this business has now been spun off from its parent company.

According to the prospectus, Wanbang Digital has separated the energy operation business (charging station operation and energy management services) under the "Star Charge" brand from its listing entity, transferring it to Jiangsu Wanbang Taiyi Technology Co., Ltd.

This means Wanbang Digital will no longer hold the charging station assets familiar to C-end users and will instead become a pure energy equipment software and hardware service provider.

A person close to Wanbang Digital told Xinfeng that the company hopes to be seen by the market as a "software and hardware integrated technology company," promoting an international strategic layout rather than just a charging pile enterprise.

"In the future, the company’s software and hardware exports are not limited to the Star Charge charging pile brand; our business mix is quite flexible. For example, our software can be licensed to other hardware companies, and our equipment can integrate with other manufacturers’ software platforms," the person explained to Xinfeng.

Specifically, in overseas business expansion, Wanbang Digital mainly cooperates with local companies or OEMs. For example, to promote charging equipment and services in Europe, Wanbang Digital jointly established Schneider eStar Holding B.V. with Schneider Electric.

In fact, although "Star Charge" has significant consumer presence, its actual revenue contribution to Wanbang Digital is not dominant, accounting for less than 1/5 of total revenue in both 2023 and 2024.

After spinning off the "Star Charge" business, Wanbang Digital's current core business covers manufacturing and sales of equipment for intelligent charging, microgrids, and large-scale energy storage.

In the first three quarters of 2025, Wanbang Digital achieved revenue of 3.072 billion yuan and net profit of 305 million yuan.

According to Frost & Sullivan, based on 2024 revenue and sales volume, Wanbang Digital is the world’s largest supplier of intelligent charging equipment, with more than 470,000 units sold globally that year.

Overall, by shedding the burden of heavy asset operations, Wanbang Digital is trying to break the market's stereotype of charging station companies as mere "infrastructure landlords," and instead tell a story as a "global energy technology leader" with higher profit margins and greater imagination.

But given the current environment in the Hong Kong stock market, whether this valuation logic will be accepted by investors ultimately depends on the company’s actual global technology export capabilities.

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