(Yicai Global) May 31 -- Zhonghuan Semiconductor plans to invest CNY9.3 billion (USD1.35 billion) boosting its output of monocrystalline silicon in a bid to cement its position as the world's top producer of the material used in solar power cells.

The Tianjin-based firm will increase capacity at its Hohhot facility to more than 55 gigawatts from 25 gigawatts, it said in a statement late yesterday. Expansion work is scheduled to complete in three and a half years and the firm expects to recoup its investment in just over eight years.

The project will help ease global supply shortages of photovoltaic materials and cut the cost of raw material for solar cells, helping achieve subsidy-free solar power generation around the world. The move will also help to consolidate the company's position as the global leader in photovoltaic materials production.

Shares of Zhonghuan Semiconductor [SHE:002129] fell 2.5 percent today to end the week at CNY10.14 (USD1.47) each. The benchmark Shenzhen Component Index was little changed.