Tesla deepens China footprint with insurance brokerage

Tesla has established an insurance brokerage in China with a registered capital of 50 million yuan ($7.2 million), according to the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System.

The company, with Zhu Xiaotong, Tesla's global vice-president and head of Tesla China, as legal representative, was registered in Lingang New Area of China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, where the Tesla "Gigafactory" is located.

The insurance brokerage company, 100 percent owned by Tesla Motors HK Ltd, was established on Aug 6 and it can operate through Aug 5, 2050.

The leading team is composed of Zhu Xiaotong as chairman and general manager, Zhang Jing and Lei Yuxia as directors, and Zhu Mei as supervisor.

Tesla (Shanghai) Co Ltd was established on May 10, 2018 and Tesla Finance Lease (China) Co Ltd was established on Dec 19 in the same year.

Tesla Construction (Shanghai) Co Ltd was established for production of automobiles on Sep 27, 2019, and Tesla has established 14 sales companies in Shanghai as of Aug 12, 2020, data from National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System shows.

The establishment of the insurance brokerage is another step in Tesla's rapid development in China, thanks to the support of the Chinese government and the friendly business environment for foreign companies in China.

Tesla also announced a five-for-one stock split on its official website on Tuesday, looking to make its shares more accessible to employees and investors.

The electric carmaker said each stockholder of record on Aug 21 will receive a dividend of four additional shares of common stock for each share held at that time, to be distributed after close of trading on Aug 28 this year.

The announcement sent Tesla's high-flying stock up 7 percent in extended trades, and indicated trading will begin on a stock split-adjusted basis on Aug 31.

Stock of NEV maker Tesla, based in Palo Alto, California but on track for fast development in China, was traded at $1,475 after the announcement, making it among the highest priced on Wall Street, Reuters reported.