(Yicai Global) Aug. 19 -- Shares of China's East Steel Tower jumped after the steel firm said that it is looking to raise CNY1 billion (USD144.4 million) via private placement to fund the expansion of Laos's largest potash chloride plant to meet the Chinese agricultural market's growing demand.

The stock price of East Steel Tower [SHE:002545] hit a new high since November 2017 early this morning and after that, was 4.01 percent up at CNY9.31 (USD1.30).

The steel structures designer and installer would like to double the output of the factory to 1 million tons of potash chloride, according to the Qingdao-based firm's statement issued yesterday.

East Steel Tower went through asset restructuring in October 2016 to own Lao Kaiyuan Mining indirectly with an aim to increase its revenue streams via fertilizer business.

In the future, the parent would like to increase the plant's annual capacity to 1.5 million tons. Bu first, to reach an output of 1 million tons, the firm estimates it will spend CNY1.9 billion over a construction period of two years.

Some 70 percent of the new funds should be used to upgrade the factory while the rest would supplement the listed firm's liquidity.

The factory's products are mainly sold to China, India, and Vietnam, and other Southeast Asian countries, according to the firm's website. In 2018, it sold 550,000 tons of potash.

Lao Kaiyuan Mining owns 141 square kilometers of potash mining rights in Laos. Within that, the reserves of potash chloride reach 218 million tons in a 41.7 sqm area in Khammouan province, and are easy to mine, according to the statement.

Editor: Emmi Laine