(Yicai Global) Feb. 10 --  Chinese textiles maker Dragon will reboot its face mask production that was halted after the severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak over a  decade ago to tap into rising demand amid the new coronavirus epidemic.

Dragon has already penned agreements with equipment providers and will invest CNY100 million  (USD14.3 Million) to build a new plant that will start trial operation in mid-February, the Shanghai-based company said in a statement today. The firm expects to produce from three million to five million face masks each day once running at full capacity early next month.

Moreover, the company has already provided the municipal government with more than 2,000 hazmat suits while expecting to boost the daily output to 20,000 suits.

Dragon's stock price  [SHA:600630] rose 1.44 percent to CNY9.88 (USD1.41) this afternoon. The shares have climbed over 30 percent since the company first announced the rekindled production intentions on Jan. 17.

Editor: Emmi Laine