(Yicai Global) April 12 -- Shares of China Commodities City Group surged after the operator of the world’s largest wholesale market for small commodities said it plans to invest CNY8.3 billion (USD1.2 billion) to build a global digital trade center in Yiwu.

China Commodities City [SHA: 600415] rose by the exchange-imposed daily trading limit of 10 percent to close at CNY7 (USD1.02) per share today.

The new digital trade center will have an area of 1.2 million square meters and include a market center, office buildings, and apartments, China Commodities City, which is managed by the state-owned assets supervision and administration commission of Yiwu, announced yesterday.

The center will be a sixth-generation market, bringing digital infrastructure to every aspect of the trade in small commodities, it added.

To be built near International Commodity City, a market in Yiwu operated by China Commodities City, the center aims to create a supply chain that covers research and development, design, brand incubation, smart manufacturing of fashion products, and new media marketing, the company noted.

Moreover, the center will integrate production, trade and display, logistics, and warehousing functions, as well as provide customs inspection, foreign exchange, and tax services, the firm said.

Once completed in two years, the project is expected to generate CNY176 million (USD25.6 million) in after-tax net profit a year and have an after-tax payback period including construction off nearly 11 years, the company added.

China Commodities City also released its first-quarter earnings report yesterday. Thanks to the recovery of business activities after the Covid-19 pandemic, revenue jumped 33 percent to CNY2.1 billion in the three months ended March 31 from a year earlier. Net profit surged 82 percent to CNY1.2 billion, exceeding last year’s total.

For the year ended Dec. 31, revenue jumped 26 percent to CNY7.6 billion, according to its annual report, also published yesterday. Net profit fell 17 percent to CNY1.1 billion, mainly because of a CNY840 million (USD122 million) loss of revenue after the firm lowered rents during the pandemic.

Editor: Futura Costaglione