(Yicai Global) June 14 -- Shares of Guolian Aquatic Products soared by its exchange-imposed daily trading limit after the Chinese seafood supplier said it will receive as much as USD560 million in financial support from Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund.

Guolian Aquatic [SHE: 300094] closed 20 percent higher at CNY5.68 (79 US cents) in Shenzhen today, though the stock is still down 6.4 percent since the end of last year.

Guolian Aquatic inked a deal with Public Investment Fund Asia Division on June 12 to get up to USD500 million for promoting projects related to seafood trade, including trading platforms, exchange, futures, and procurement, the Zhanjiang-based firm said late yesterday. PIF will support the businesses with direct investment or financing, it added.

PIF will also extend a credit line of up to USD60 million to Guolian Aquatic's global seafood procurement process at a 3 percent annual interest rate and for a 20 percent cut of the income generated from the financing, Guolian Aquatic noted.

The two firms will discuss the specific content and implementation details of the deal and sign agreements for individual projects separately, Guolian Aquatic said.

Partnering with PIF will help expand Guolian Aquatic's presence in the global seafood industry and reduce the dependency of its procurement funds on its own cash flow, the firm pointed out. PIF's support will also offer an alternative source of funds at a time when major overseas economies are tightening the cost of borrowing, it added.

Since Guolian Aquatic first signed a deal with Saudi Arabia's National Aquaculture Group in September 2019 to exclusively resell its white-leg shrimps in the Chinese market, imports of the product have continued to grow, laying a solid foundation for the latest tie-up, Guolian Aquatic said.

Editor: Martin Kadiev