(Yicai) Aug. 29 -- Shares of Jiangsu General Science Technology climbed after the Chinese tire maker set out plans to expand its production of high-performance radial tires in Thailand at a cost of CNY1.9 billion (USD260.6 million).

General Science [SHA: 601500] finished 4.4 percent higher at CNY4.27 (59 US cents) a share today. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.1 percent.

A Thai unit of will be the project investor, using self-raised funds, loans, and other means, its Wuxi-based parent company said yesterday. The project, which will become operational in 24 months, will add the capacity to produce 500,000 all-steel radial tires and six million semi-steel radial tires a year, it added.

The project will increase General Science’s industrial footprint, meet overseas market needs, and enhance domestic market competitiveness, the company said.

The project is expected to bring an average revenue of CNY2.1 billion and a net profit of CNY373 million (USD51.2 million) per year, with an after-tax internal rate of return of 18.5 percent and a payback period of six and a half years, the firm noted.

General Science said it has invested CNY3.4 billion outside of China in the past 12 months, including the Thai project, amounting to 50 percent of its audited net assets as of June 30.

First-half net profit skyrocketed 219 percent to CNY58.1 million (USD8 million) from a year earlier, thanks to higher sales as raw material prices and shipping fees declined, the company said on June 30. Revenue rose 5.5 percent to CNY2.2 billion.

Editor: Martin Kadiev