(Yicai Global) Sept. 30 -- Suzhou SLAC Precision Equipment's shares surged over 10 percent in the afternoon as it gears up to cooperate with an Ant Group affiliate to apply blockchain technology on its pop-top can production lines to realize product tracking and brand protection.

The company and Ant Group affiliate Ant Blockchain Technology Shanghai inked their blockchain traceability platform service agreement this morning, SLAC said in a statement it released at midday.

The firm's stock [SHE:300382] closed 8.25 percent higher at CNY9.45 (USD1.40), down from a 13.17 percent peak in midafternoon on the news, after wallowing in a trough most of the morning.

Under the deal, Ant Blockchain Technology will provide SLAC, which is a pop-top can production equipment supplier based in the eastern Chinese city of Suzhou, with a whole industry chain and various blockchain technology Software-as-a-Service services, as well as a related business configuration and technical support services, per the statement.

The easy-open can machinery maker will enjoy various rights set down in the agreement, including data uploads and data use for a fee, the statement added, without providing more details.

This is a new business in which the company is seeking to apply blockchain technology to a digital printing can production line to help clients realize 'one code for one can' by assigning codes to goods and uploading information to a digital ledger to increase their products' brand value and marketing efficiency, SLAC said.

The collaboration will aid the company's transformation and upgrade into a blockchain physical label equipment maker and market growth and business model innovation, per the statement.

The application of blockchain to the company's main business is still in the preliminary trial phase, and the proposed cooperative project is at risk of sluggish implementation and less-than-expected results as neither party has plied any such business before, the statement advised.

Editor: Ben Armour