(Yicai Global) April 9 --  The stock price of Chinese dairy giant Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial  Group has celebrated the company's upcoming share buyback plan by  advancing. 

Yili's stock [SHA:600887] climbed nearly 8 percent to CNY30.8 (USD4.60) by lunch. 

The company is planning to  buy of 2.5 to 5 percent of its outstanding shares in the next 12  months, at a price no higher than CNY35 per share, which equals to a 22  percent premium compared to yesterday's close. The highest the stock has ever reached is CNY34.53 in January 2018.

The  acquired equity will be used to provide stock options for company  employees to better align the interests of the management and the firm's  shareholders, according to the Hohhot-based company.

The  plan could cost the firm CNY10.6 billion (USD1.6 billion), accounting  for 22 percent of its total assets, or 38 percent of its net assets. Yili's total assets were CNY47.6 billion by the end of 2018, and the total debt was CNY19.6 billion, public data show.

Editor: Emmi Laine