(Yicai) June 4 -- Aishida said the Chinese firm plans to invest no more than CNY150 million (USD20.9 million) to build a cookware, small appliances, and industrial robots production base in Vietnam.

Aishida's unit Aishida Hong Kong will invest in the plant located in Dong Nai province, the Zhejiang province-based parent company announced late yesterday. The investment will help expand its business in Vietnam and Southeast Asia, enhance its overseas market share, and further improve its global layout, it added.

The overseas business of Aishida has faced challenges this year, with its exports impacted by changes in the international trade environment, particularly the China-US trade frictions. Foreign trade previously accounted for 45 percent of the company's overall business, with the United States as its core market.

Aishida reported a net profit of CNY5.9 million (USD820,000) in the three months ended March 31, down 71 percent from a year earlier and 56 percent from the previous quarter, mainly due to a drop in government subsidies, according to its latest financial report. Its revenue reached CNY649 million (USD90.3 million), falling 5.1 percent year on year and 20 percent quarter on quarter.

Shares of Aishida [SHE: 002403] rose 1.9 percent to CNY15.06 (USD2.09) each as of 11.25 a.m. in Shenzhen today, after earlier jumping by as much as 3 percent.

Editor: Martin Kadiev