(Yicai Global) June 1 -- Shares of China's Jiuri New Materials jumped after the chemicals manufacturer said it has begun churning out a certain key material used in chip manufacturing for the first time. 

Jiuri's stock price [SHA: 688199] closed 4.2 percent higher at CNY38.84 (USD5.80) after surging as much as 8 percent intraday. But the shares are still almost 9 percent down in the past 12 months.

The production line, which can make 600 tons of photosensitizer product per year, has met the conditions to start mass production in eastern China's Xuzhou, the Tianjin-based firm said in a statement yesterday.

The substance is used to make positive photoresists for display and semiconductor packaging. China's semiconductor industry relies on imports for over 80 percent of all the photoresists it needs at the present.

Before Jiuri can begin to supply its clients with the light-sensitive material, it needs to verify the quality with its clients, it said. 

The new production will help Jiuri's clients secure their supply of the core raw material, it said. It will also foster a sound domestic industrial ecosystem and contribute to the development of China's industry of photoresists and semiconductors, the firm added.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi