(Yicai) July 23 -- Shares of Zhong Fu Tong Group soared after the Chinese communication network service provider said it will develop autonomous driving technology with leading bus manufacturer King Long United Automobile Industry.

Zhong Fu Tong [SHE: 300560] surged 14 percent to close at CNY11.88 (USD1.63) a share in Shenzhen today, after earlier jumping by the exchange-imposed daily trading limit of 20 percent.

Zhong Fu Tong inked a deal with King Long United yesterday to jointly promote the implementation of autonomous driving technology in application scenarios, including smart business parks and tourist attractions, as well as scenarios and projects using the Internet of Things, digitalization, and intelligent technologies, the Fuzhou-based firm announced late on the same day.

Shares of King Long Motor Group [SHA: 600686], the owner of Xiamen-based King Long United, rose by their daily trading limit of 10 percent to end at CNY12.65 in Shanghai.

Zhong Fu Tong and King Long United will promote the implementation of emerging technologies, including digital tech, edge computing, and artificial vision, in scenarios such as industrial production and smart transportation for vehicle-road collaboration, the former noted, without disclosing specific projects.

Established in 2001, Zhong Fu Tong focuses on communication network maintenance and digital marketing services. It entered the emerging edge computing business through asset acquisitions in recent years, but the new business contributed only 1.5 percent to its revenue last year, with income mainly from products and technical services related to AI and Internet of Things applications, its annual earnings report showed.

King Long Motor sold 42,079 buses in 2023, according to its annual financial report.

Editor: Martin Kadiev