(Yicai) Aug. 28 -- Senior Technology Material, China’s leading supplier of battery separators, plans to spend as much as CNY5 billion (USD685.9 million) building a new production base for lithium-ion battery separators in Malaysia.

Located in the state of Pinang, the project's first phase will have the capacity to turn out 2 billion square meters of lithium-ion battery separators a year, Senior Technology said late on Aug. 25. Construction and operation will be overseen by the firm's local unit, with construction likely to last 18 months, it added.

The new factory can help Senior Technology's overseas clients raise their share of the local market and achieve localized raw material supply, the Shenzhen-based firm noted. It can also improve the firm’s production capacity layout in the global market, it added, without disclosing further details.

It will be Senior Technology's first Malaysian base. The company has multiple plants in China and is building a factory in Sweden to mainly supply lithium-ion battery maker Northvolt. Senior Technology's overseas clients also include LG Chem, Samsung SDI, Murata Manufacturing, and Freyr Battery Norway.

Shares of Senior Technology [SHE: 300568] fell 0.9 percent to close at CNY13.67 (USD1.88) a share today, after moving between a 6.4 percent gain and a 1.4 percent decline. The broader Shenzhen market added 1 percent.

Editor: Martin Kadiev