(Yicai) July 4 -- Shares of Dowstone Technology fell after the Chinese supplier of lithium battery materials said it plans to invest USD165 million to expand its overseas production capacity with a new copper cathode smelter in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Dowstone Tech [SHE: 300409] fell 4.3 percent to CNY15.93 (USD2.22) a share as of 1.45 p.m. in Shenzhen today.

Dowstone Tech's Hong Kong-based unit will set up the new factory with an annual production capacity of 30,000 tons of copper cathode, the parent firm announced late yesterday. The project will take 18 months to construct.

Building a smelter in DRC, one of the world's largest copper and cobalt exporters, will allow Dowstone Tech to leverage local resource advantages, secure raw material supply, achieve effective cost control in procurement and processing, and better meet global demand, according to the Foshan-based company.

Dowstone Tech focuses on supplying carbon, lithium battery, and ceramic materials, with its annual production capacity of copper cathode in DRC topping 60,000 tons as of Dec. 31, while that of cobalt intermediates was 3,000 tons, according to its 2024 financial report. Its local copper cathode output reached a record high of 40,883 tons last year.

Editor: Martin Kadiev