(Yicai) March 11 -- Shares of Eaglerise Electric & Electronic China dropped after the power equipment maker said it plans to build a new energy transformer joint venture factory in Thailand with an investment of up to CNY130 million (USD18.86 million) to better meet overseas demand.

Eaglerise [SHE: 002922] ended 5.4 percent lower at CNY45.54 (USD6.62) a share today. The broader Shenzhen market climbed 0.8 percent. The stock has more than tripled over the past 11 months, reaching an all-time high of CNY49.38 on March 6, boosted by rising demand for transformers by artificial intelligence data centers and the new energy sector.

Eaglerise's Thai subsidiary will set up a JV project company in Thailand with Xindor Global, a company under Eaglerise's actual controller, and Canadian Solar Energy Holding Transformers, a new unit of CS Renewable Ventures, the Foshan-based parent firm announced late yesterday. The JV will oversee the investment, construction, and operation of the plant in Si Racha, Chonburi province.

Eaglerise will hold a 51 percent stake in the JV, with Xindor Global owning 19 percent and Canadian Solar Energy the rest. The new factory will mainly produce medium- and low-voltage distribution transformers, box-type transformers, and prefabricated substations, prioritizing supply to Canadian Solar Energy and its affiliates.

The plant will ensure products meet all regulatory requirements for export to the United States, Eaglerise pointed out, without disclosing further details, including when it will become operational and its planned annual production capacity.

Eaglerise has been increasingly building overseas factories in recent years. Its first transformer plant in Thailand, with an annual output of 6,000 new energy and distribution transformers, went live last December, while its Texas factory, with an annual capacity of 21,000 distribution transformers, became operational last October.

In addition, Eaglerise's new energy transformer plant in Mexico, with a total investment of nearly USD100 million and an annual capacity of 6,000 units, is expected to go live in the middle of this year.

Eaglerise's main products include special transformers for data centers and industrial use, new energy transformers for photovoltaic and energy storage applications, and traditional distribution transformers. Its operating revenue jumped 20 percent in the first half of last year from a year earlier, mainly driven by growing global PV and energy storage installations and rising demand for power equipment upgrades overseas, according to its financial report.

Editor: Martin Kadiev