(Yicai) April 9 -- Shares of China’s Sinoma International Engineering leaped after the civil engineering giant announced it had secured a USD263 million contract to build a consumer electronics manufacturing facility in Saudi Arabia for Lenovo Group.

Sinoma [SHA: 600970] closed 5.7 percent higher at CNY9.21 (USD1.30) in Shanghai today after surging as much as 6.5 percent during intraday trading. The shares are still over 20 percent down from a year ago.

The cement engineering behemoth has signed an engineering, procurement, and construction contract to build the Lenovo factory in a special integrated logistics zone near Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport, the Beijing-based firm announced yesterday.

The two parties recently signed a general contracting agreement, with project completion scheduled no later than Aug. 31, 2026. The deal covers the entire process -- from obtaining permits to equipment commissioning and final handover.

The new factory is expected to play a key role in Lenovo’s global supply network. The facility will manufacture laptops, desktops, and servers, with an annual output of millions of units, according to earlier media reports. The Beijing-based owner of brands ThinkPad and Motorola also plans to establish regional headquarters for the Middle East and Africa in Riyadh and open a flagship store in the Saudi capital.

Sinoma generates nearly half of its revenue overseas. Based on its annual report, the company earned CNY22.3 billion (USD3 billion) abroad last year -- about half of its total income. Revenue from engineering and technical services reached CNY27.1 billion, accounting for around 59 percent of the total.

Editor: Emmi Laine