Banks compete for Hong Kong’s blockbuster listing with a 0.01% fee.

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Chinese banks are scrambling to act on a blockbuster Hong Kong secondary listing with a 0.01 percent fee for world-leading EV battery maker CATL, whose trading has slowed sharply.

CICC, one of the biggest listings in Hong Kong in recent years, and CSC are among the banks that took the lead in the deal. JPMorgan and Bank of America are also in line for top roles.

Two people familiar with the matter said CICC would be willing to work on it in return for a fee of 0.01 percent of the capital raised for its role in the deal, which could eventually top $7 billion. Two people familiar with the matter said CSC has also put out a payout around that level.

“I think competitors are willing to do things in this market,” said one senior banker at an institution that plays a role.

Companies use the numbers from multiple banks as a guide when deciding how to pay, rather than directly paying the amount they’ve spent. The total payment pool may be unequally shared among banks.

CATL had planned to pay entry fees of 0.2 percent, two people familiar with the matter said. On top of that, incentive fees — based on the order value each bank brings in — could push up the final number, two people familiar with the deal said. Fees on larger deals such as CATL listings can often be lower than smaller ones, but figures below 1 percent are unusual.

Morgan Stanley estimated CATL’s listing could be worth up to $7.7 billion, marking one of the largest offerings in the state in recent years and potentially tapping offshore funds as the Shenzhen-listed company looks to expand overseas. CATL announced the plan in December, with details expected later this year.

Bankers say Chinese banks are willing to accept rock-bottom fees on such a large offering because there is little business and the IPO market on the mainland has yet to recover. At one European bank, a director said it was no surprise to see the cuts: “There’s no deal, even though most of their Chinese team onshore has a lot of potential.”

US banks this month plan to work on a deal with the Pentagon – a supplier to Tesla, Volkswagen and Ford – to blacklist companies it says have ties to China’s military.

Demand for the allocation among some US institutional investors has not abated, bankers said. The Defense Department’s list only bars those doing business with the U.S. military and has no direct legal ramifications, but it does pose a reputational risk.

In a statement, CATL has “never engaged in any military-related business or activities”, saying the move was “wrong” and “expected to have no negative impact on our business”.

The battery pioneer has avoided regulatory concerns over the large-scale offering of an earlier plan to sell up to $5 billion in Swiss global depositary receipts by 2023.

On average, banks will pay or receive at least a single-digit fee on a Hong Kong listing, according to investment bankers and prospects by 2024.

An executive at another bank described the CATL listing as a “franchise agreement” that bankers want to participate in despite the lower pay.

Banks have an incentive to be on the deal with the prospect of more profitable future business with CATL, such as block transactions.

“Everyone just wants credits on the league table, they’re not trying to make money on this deal,” said a Chinese banker familiar with the field. It’s frustrating to see some peers breaking the rules, but there’s nothing we can do about it.

Bank of America, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and CICC declined to comment. CSC and CATL did not respond to requests for comment.