(Yicai Global) June 20 -- Shares in traditional Chinese Medicine maker Kpc Pharmaceuticals rose by the maximum 10 percent daily limit today after opening a hemp division for the sale of skin care products.

The stock [SHA:600422] rose to CNY12.77 (USD1.85) in trading today. The skin care products will contain hemp as their core ingredient, the Yunnan-based firm said on social media. 

A string of Chinese firms from a range of industries have started to work with hemp this year as investors look to pile cash into the emerging sector. Yatai Pharmaceutical, Hybo Pharmaceutical, packaging maker MYS Group and Guilin Layn Natural Ingredients are just a handful of such companies.

The firm's flagship online store has introduced two new products for presale. The 150-milliliter Hemp Leat Smoothing Repair Spray and the 100-gram Hemp Leat Smoothing Repair Cleanser, respectively priced at CNY188 (USD27.2) and CNY138, are more expensive than comparable products on the market. 

The firm undertook joint research and development with scientific research institutions after it found out the skincare effects of hemp in 2017, KPC said.

It will rebuild an idle botanical workshop at one of its units into a processing plant for hemp, according to a statement in April, adding the plant can extract 500 tons of hemp flowers and leaves annually to produce high-purity cannabidiol.

The firm issued a statement again on June 15, announcing that it had inked a deal with US firm Ananda Industrial to set up a joint venture in China to develop cannabidiol drugs for neuropathic pain.