(Yicai) Sept. 20 -- Shares of Wetown Electric inched up after the Chinese electrical component supplier said it plans to set up a joint venture with the Chinese arm of Swiss multinational ABB.

Wetown [SHA: 688226] was trading up 1.1 percent at CNY15.38 (USD2.18) as of lunch break in Shanghai today, after earlier gaining as much as 4.9 percent.

With a registered capital of CNY80 million (USD11.4 million), the JV will be responsible for the investment, construction, and operation of a low-voltage busbar plant, the Jiangsu province-based company announced yesterday. Wetown will own 51 percent of the JV, but ABB China will have the priority on dividends.

Low-voltage busbars are essential components in electrical distribution systems that can be used in commercial, industrial, and residential applications.

The collaboration will fully leverage the two companies' strengths, empower each other, and attract more partners and customers, Wetown noted.

Power distribution equipment is one of Wetown's three main businesses. Its revenue from this segment totaled CNY731 million (USD100 million) in the first half of the year, accounting for about 39 percent of the total.

Low-voltage busbars are among Wetown’s main products. After years of efforts, the company has become one of the major low-voltage busbar suppliers in China, according to its latest semiannual earnings report.  

Editor: Futura Costaglione