CleanTech Lithium PLC (AIM:CTL, OTCQB:CTLHF) has announced that its ordinary shares have been approved to trade on the OTCQB Venture Market in the US and will commence trading at the market open today, 15 February 2023, under the ticker CTLHF.
The company previously announced an intention to be quoted on OTCQX Best Market, however, this has been delayed due to a requirement for the company to submit audited accounts for the previous financial year, which are expected in May 2023. The board made the decision to proceed with OTCQB in order to allow US investors access without further delay.
The cross-trading of the company's ordinary shares on the OTCQB will provide enhanced investor benefits, including easier trading access for certain investors located in the US and greater liquidity due to a broader geographic pool of potential investors.
In a statement, Aldo Boitano, chief executive of CleanTech Lithium, said: "We are pleased to commence CleanTech Lithium's dual trading on the OTCQB today, marking another step forward in this year of rapid progress for the company. Cross-trading on the OTCQB will increase liquidity and significantly enhance the ability of US-based investors to access and trade CleanTech Lithium's shares during a period in which we are actively progressing our three projects in Chile.
"Dual trading on OTCQB will also, we believe, serve to diversify the share register and increase exposure to a broader range of investors, whether US-based or ESG-focused. In various meetings with US-based investors over the past year, they have continually encouraged the company to obtain an OTC onboarding as a means of trading in CleanTech Lithium shares. Given the incentives potentially available to companies such as CleanTech Lithium following the Inflation Reduction Act, we believe US-based investors will understand the very real benefits of this for CleanTech Lithium and we would welcome their investment in our company."
Boitano added: "In the meantime, our board continues to consider the merits of an additional listing on ASX and we shall update the market in the near future of our intentions in that regard."
The company said it will provide further updates as and when its re-applies to transfer from OTCQB to the OTCQX platform once its audited accounts have been released, later this year.
Jonathan Dickson, VP of International Corporate Services at OTC Markets Inc, commented: "We are delighted to welcome CleanTech Lithium to the OTCQB Venture Market. With its primary listing remaining on London's AIM, the OTCQB's cross-trading facility will allow CleanTech Lithium to broaden its horizons and provide investors in the US with the ability to access the company's ordinary shares in US dollars and during US market hours."
IR engagement
CleanTech Lithium also said it has engaged Harbor Access, based near New York, to work with the directors and management to create a North American investors relation (IR) strategy, tailoring the company's messaging to target a larger investor pool in the US and Canada. Harbor are specialists in this field with access to over 20 years of capital markets and IR experience in North America.
Harbor are already working with the company and its joint brokers, Fox-Davies Capital and Canaccord Genuity, on a marketing campaign to take place in late February and early March in New York and Boston, involving the company's CEO, Aldo Boitano, and CFO, Gordon Stein.
Boitano said: "We are also delighted to have engaged the team at Harbor Access who are specialists in IR and capital markets in the North American market and will be able to assist the company in our marketing activities in the US. Over the coming months, CleanTech Lithium's directors and management will put specific additional emphasis on increasing our outreach efforts to US-based institutions and investors."
The signing of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) by US President Biden in August 2022 means that by 2026, 80% of minerals in Electric Vehicle (EV) batteries will need to be sourced from the US or a country that has a free trade agreement (FTA) with the US.
Chile is the only major producer of battery-grade lithium carbonate/hydroxide that currently has an FTA with the US so this places CleanTech Lithium in a favourable place to sell its future lithium products into the US. The IRA provides financial incentives in the US to companies that can increase the security of supply of battery minerals.
CleanTech Lithium is in the process of opening discussions with US authorities as to whether such financial incentives will be available to developing lithium producers in Chile that plan to be part of the lithium supply chain into the US. This has included initial communications with the US Consulate in Santiago.