** Shares of Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd rise 6% to HK$27.35, the biggest daily percentage gain since July 29
** Stock hits the highest since Aug. 19; the second biggest percentage gainer on both the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index
and the Hang Seng Index
** Zeekr, the electric vehicle brand by Geely, said on Friday it raised $500 million in its first external funding from investors including Intel Capital , battery maker CATL
and online entertainment firm Bilibili
** Zeekr is jointly owned by Geely Automobile and its parent Zhejiang Geely Holding Group
** Brokerage Daiwa says the deal implies a 58 bln yuan valuation at the pre-A financing round and it sees the high valuation as positive for investor sentiment on Geely
** Zeekr will likely introduce other investors and attract an even higher valuation in the future - Daiwa
** The Hong Kong Hang Seng Commerce & Industry Index rises 1.1%, and the Hang Seng Composite Index climbs 0.4%
** The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index and the benchmark index both gain 0.2%
(Reporting by Donny Kwok)
((donny.kwok@thomsonreuters.com))