On November 5, 2026, in a government building in Kazakhstan, a piece of local cathode copper will be transformed into copper foil thinner than a human hair and installed into electric vehicle batteries or AI server circuit boards. Londian Wason and NAIKAN Ltd. have signed a joint venture agreement to jointly build a high-performance electrolytic copper foil production base in the Saryarka Special Economic Zone.

Government building signing

Nurrebek Nalibaev, the First Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, presided over the ceremony, witnessed by the Deputy Minister of Industry and Construction and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and signed by Zhou Guangling, Co President of Londian Wason, and Alexander Nigai, Chairman of NAIKAN Ltd. The total investment of the project is about 810 million US dollars. The first phase of production is planned to start in the second quarter of 2029, with an expected annual output of 50000 tons by 2031. The main products are electrolytic copper foil for lithium-ion batteries and HVLP copper foil for high-end printed circuit boards in AI servers and data centers. Customers include CATL, BYD, China Innovation Airlines, LG New Energy SK On、 Panasonic, Samsung SDI, Shennan Circuit, and Shengyi Technology. The expansion of battery production and AI infrastructure drive demand, and the cooperation aims to improve response delivery, enhance supply chain resilience, and promote internationalization.

Copper and computing power intersect

Both sides also discussed local procurement, training of Harbin technical talents, and integration into the global supply chain. The project uses local cathode copper from Kazakhstan. Copper resources are abundant and well supplied, and local materials are used to shorten the procurement radius, reduce capital occupation and logistics costs; Wind energy and other green power sources are used to assist in the construction of high standard ESG production bases. The product is used for batteries, energy storage, and modern microelectronics, and can also be paired with projects such as the Pavlodar State Data Center Valley. Kazakhstan supports the shift from raw material exports to deep processing and high value-added manufacturing, and coordinates computing power and energy with the digital Kazakhstan strategy; HVLP copper foil is in high demand, with overseas dominance, and the two sides complement each other in terms of resources, technology, market, and industrial upgrading.

Starting from Kuandan again

Malaysia is the first clear overseas destination for Londian Wason's global expansion. In September 2024, a memorandum of understanding was signed with Asas Panorama Sdn Bhd, the developer of the Malaysia China Kuantan Industrial Park, to plan a high-end copper foil project. Wang Guanran, the chairman, co CEO, and controlling shareholder, represented the signing party. The final prospectus for August 2026 disclosed a target annual production capacity of 10000 tons for the first phase. The Malaysian Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry approved the manufacturing license application in March 2025, and the project is still under construction. The Kazakhstan project is led by another co CEO, Zhou Guangling. Wang Guanran will be appointed as a director in September 2022, co CEO in May 2023, and chairman in December 2025; In August of this year, Londian Wason went public in the United States as the world's largest electrolytic copper foil company. The head of the post-2000 generation, the New York Stock Exchange, rang the bell and raised 45% of the funds for global capacity expansion and upgrading, including investment in production facilities, equipment procurement, and potential strategic mergers and acquisitions. His father, Wang Weidong, worked at the China Securities Regulatory Commission in his early years and later participated in the establishment of Boshi Fund, one of the first public funds in China. He founded Daren Asset Management and Jiesi Group, which were once prominent in the capital market. However, he retired from the scene after Daren Asset Management was delisted; Daren Group has formed an industrial layout centered around Lingbao Gold, Londian Wason, and others.Editor/Yang Meiling