(Yicai) June 29 -- ‌Forehope Electronic’s shares surged after the Chinese provider of integrated circuit packaging and testing services set out plans to invest CNY10.3 billion (USD1.5 billion) building a new factory to expand its capacity to make high-end products.

‌Forehope Electronic [SHA: 688362] closed 12.5 percent higher at CNY84.95 (USD12.40) a share in Shanghai today. The stock has soared almost 150 percent since the end of last year.

The new plant is the third phase of a project Forehope Electronic is developing in the Sino-Italy Ningbo Ecological Park in Yuyao, where it is based, according to a statement released late on June 26. It will deploy a full suite of advanced packaging technologies, including BUMP, 2.5D, FC, and WB, with construction scheduled over 96 months, the firm said, without providing details such as annual production capacity or product types.

The expansion is focused on cutting-edge packaging processes that are among the most advanced in the industry, and is expected to strengthen the company’s research, development and industrialization capabilities in high-end chip packaging, it said.

Forehope Electronic noted that the project comes amid structural supply shortages in advanced packaging, where downstream demand continues to outpace available capacity.

The firm added that the investment will further support R&D and testing for next-generation high-end products, enhance its presence in wafer-level advanced packaging, and help it capture opportunities arising from rapid growth in the IC sector and ongoing domestic substitution in high-end chip packaging. It also expects the project to open up new avenues for business expansion.

The first phase of the project, which cost CNY4.5 billion (USD661.9 million), uses mature packaging technologies and began operations in 2020. The second phase, with an investment of CNY11.1 billion, employs high-end packaging tech and is moving from trial production to full-scale output.

Forehope Electronic mainly provides IC packaging and testing services to chip design companies, generating revenue from fees. Its chip packaging output surged 26 percent to 6.55 billion units last year.

Net profit rose 23 percent to CNY81.7 million (USD11.3 million), while revenue gained 22 percent to CNY4.4 billion, according to the firm’s annual earnings report. Forehope Electronic attributed its strong performance to surging demand from the artificial intelligence, automotive, and Internet of Things chip markets, which led to a surge in advanced packaging orders. Com Coupled with a notable rise in overseas orders, the firm maintained full-capacity utilization throughout the year.

On Jan. 12, Forehope Electronic said it plans to invest CNY2.1 billion to build an IC packaging and testing plant in Penang, Malaysia, aiming to deepen ties with major overseas clients and consolidate and grow its market share of the global IC packaging and testing business.

Editor: Martin Kadiev