(Yicai Global) July 28 -- Shares of Sunwoda Electronic rose after the Chinese lithium-ion battery cells and modules supplier said it plans to build a power battery plant in Hungary to improve its overseas business positioning and better serve international clients.

Sunwoda [SHE: 300207] was trading up 2.3 percent at CNY16.27 (USD2.27) as of today’s lunch break.

Sunwoda’s Hungarian unit Sunwoda Electric Vehicle Battery will be responsible for the construction and operation of the new plant, the Shenzhen-based company announced yesterday.

The first phase of the project will cost CNY2 billion (USD273.5 million), Sunwoda added, noting that the investment amount will mainly cover the costs of the land, construction, and equipment procurement.

the Hungarian plant will main serve international clients, Sunwoda pointed out. This Chinese Power Battery has clients Dongfeng Motor, SAIC Motor, GAC Group, Renault, and Nissan. 

Sunwoda’s installed power battery capacity reached 3.8 gigawatt-hours in the first five months of the year, ranking 10th globally with a market share of 1.6 percent, according to statistics from market research and consulting services provider SNE Research.

The company’s energy storage business also expanded in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.

Earlier this month, Sunwoda announced it plans to spin off Sunwoda EVB for listing on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange’s technology board ChiNext. The funds raised through the initial public offering will be used to research and develop advanced power batteries and high-quality production capacity technologies.

Last November, Sunwoda successfully listed its shares on the principal stock exchange of Switzerland, raising about USD440 million. The firm then said the proceeds of the issuance of global depository shares would be used to advance its global business, positioning, and R&D.

Sunwoda reported CNY1.1 billion (USD148.6 million) net profit and CNY52.2 billion (USD7.3 billion) revenue last year, up 16.2 percent and 39.6 percent, respectively, from the previous year.

Editor: Futura Costaglione