(Yicai Global) Oct. 21 -- Shares of Sichuan Road & Bridge jumped after the engineering firm controlled by the southwestern Chinese province's state-owned assets manager secured investment from automaker BYD and others.

Sichuan Road & Bridge [SHA:600039] surged by the daily limit of 10 percent to CNY9.28 (USD1.50) with a total market cap of about CNY44.3 billion (USD7 billion).

Sichuan Energy Industry Investment Group and BYD's affiliate Sichuan Jiaotong Industry Investment Holdings will participate in the construction engineering company's CNY2.5 billion (USD391 million) private placement, the Chengdu-based firm said in a statement yesterday.

Sichuan Energy Industry will spend CNY500 million (USD78.2 million) and BYD CNY200 million. The statement didn't mention the resulting shareholding ratio. Currently, Shudao Investment Group is Sichuan Road & Bridge's biggest shareholder with a more than 68 percent stake.

The infrastructure builder will use the proceeds of the fundraiser to acquire assets of three local firms that construct roads from its parent Shudao.

China is striving to make its state-owned assets more efficient. Last May, two state-backed infrastructure developers in Sichuan, namely Shichuan Transportation Investment Group and Sichuan Railway Investment Group, were merged to form Shudao. The firm promised to integrate its businesses via cash transactions or share issuance.

The latest collaboration should involve power and resources. Sichuan Road & Bridge's strategic investors will form a synergistic effect in the field of energy, it said. The company and BYD will cooperate in lithium-ion battery materials, electrification of engineering construction vehicles, mineral resources development, and the research and development of energy storage, it added.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi