(Yicai) May 20 -- CAC Nantong Chemical, a Chinese maker of pesticide products and functional chemicals, plans to invest up to USD150 million to build a production base in Egypt.

The plant will have an annual output capacity of 80,000 metric tons of herbicides, fungicides, and functional chemicals, the Jiangsu province-based firm announced yesterday. Construction is expected to be completed in two years.

Egypt offers robust infrastructure, a relatively stable political and social environment, and a solid foundation for industrial investment, CAC Nantong noted, adding that a pesticide and functional chemicals plant in Egypt will enhance the company’s delivery efficiency and service responsiveness overseas, thus strengthening its international competitiveness.

CAC Nantong sells directly to consumers in the Chinese market but instead adopts a business-to-business model overseas. Its sales network covers major agricultural markets in the Americas, Southeast Asia, and Europe.

The company has established long-term partnerships with global industry leaders, such as Syngenta Group, Corteva, Nufarm, Adama, UPL, and Honeywell, which enabled it to have continuous access to first-hand market information.

CAC Nantong went public on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange’s ChiNext board on April 11. Its shares [SHE: 301665] were trading down 1.7 percent at CNY33.52 (USD4.64) apiece as of lunch break today. They have fallen over 25 percent since the listing.

Editor: Futura Costaglione