(Yicai Global) July 23 -- Shares of Bright Laser Technologies, China’s leading provider of solutions for metal additive manufacturing technology, soared to an all-time high after the firm revealed a plan to invest CNY2 billion (USD309 million) in a new plant to 3D-print large metal parts.

On Shanghai’s Star Market today, Bright Laser [SHA:688333] rose by as much as the daily trading limit of 20 percent to a record CNY213.60 (USD32.99), before closing up 17 percent at CNY208.22.

The project will greatly boost Bright Laser’s production capacity and market share, with the aim of making it China’s largest supplier of services related to the 3D-printing of metal parts, the Xi’an-based firm said in a statement yesterday. The new plant will take about 36 months to complete.

3D-printing is a technology for manufacturing special metallic or non-metallic materials through software and numerical control systems. It is especially suitable for the small-scale production of items with complex structures.

Bright Laser was among the first group of 25 businesses to list on the Star Market, a Nasdaq-like board mainly for tech startups, in July 2019. In their first five trading days, stocks on the Star Market have no daily limit. Thereafter moves are capped at 20 percent either way.

Editor: Futura Costaglione