Last week the company completed the placement of 460 million new shares on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, raising a total of HK$172.5 million ($22.1 million). The money will be used to fund its acquisition of Zhejiang GBS Energy Co., a lithium ion battery manufacturer located in Yuyao, Zhejiang.

Earlier this month Hybrid Kinetic announced it has signed an agreement to acquire the Zhejiang company for 180 million yuan ($26.4 million). 

"The synergies of the business of the target company in terms of costs, production and quality control of battery production, as well as battery technology innovation to be brought to the automobile business of the group are essential to the manufacture of the hybrid-electric vehicles to be developed by the group," the company said in a statement filed with the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. 

Hybrid Kinetic also said in the statement it expects to start making hybrid electric vehicles in 2012.

Hybrid Kinetic is controlled by its chairman Yeung Yung (known as Yang Rong in mainland China), who is the ousted former CEO of Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd. The company is now leading a venture to build a $6.5 billion auto plant in northern Mississippi, where it will hire 25,000 workers to eventually produce 1 million cars a year.

Yeung proposes to finance the project with private money raised in China. He is soliciting investors on the promise of both launching a new car venture and obtaining American visas for many rich Chinese.

Under his plan, the project will attract auto investors through a special U.S. visa program called EB-5. That program, created in 1990, encourages wealthy foreigners to invest in the United States.