HONG KONG, May 11 (Reuters) - Chinese battery maker CATL

is launching its Hong Kong public offering on

Monday, aiming to raise at least $4 billion at about a 5%

discount to its domestic share price, three people with

knowledge of the deal said on Sunday.

CATL's Shenzhen-listed shares last traded at 248.27 yuan on

Friday.

The company has finalised investor briefings ahead of book

building, having secured around $2.6 billion from cornerstone

investors, the three sources said, declining to be named as the

information was not yet public.

Cornerstone investors include Kuwait Investment Authority

and China's oil major Sinopec, which committed $500

million each, and a vehicle under Hillhouse Investment which

committed $200 million, two of the sources said.

CATL did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for

comment.

The cornerstone investors did not immediately comment.

The discount and cornerstone line-up indicate strong demand

from investors for one of the world's dominant battery makers

despite geopolitical and trade tensions.

Hong Kong shares of a company typically trade at a discount

compared with its mainland stocks. Investors are usually offered

stock at a cheaper price in offshore listings as an incentive to

buy into the share offering.

At around 5%, the discount is significantly tighter than

previous major deals like Midea Group which last

year sold its shares in Hong Kong at a 20% discount to the

trading price of its mainland-listed shares.

Investors have already lodged indicative orders with the

deal's bookrunners that would cover the deal "multiple times",

according to two of the sources.

CATL's bookbuilding also comes as the U.S and China

relations remain fraught and officials from both countries met

in Geneva on the weekend for trade talks.

The company was placed on a U.S Defense Department list in

January of Chinese companies it says work with China's military.

CATL said it was "not engaged in any military-related

activities".

The tariffs imposed by Trump in April would further weigh on

battery imports from China, but CATL has said the impact on its

U.S. business will be minimal as the U.S. market accounts for

only a small part of its business.

CATL's bookbuilding is expected to last until the end of

Wednesday and the listing is scheduled for May 20, two of the

sources said.

CATL's deal would be the largest listing in Hong Kong since

Midea Group raised $4.6 billion in an initial public offering

last year.