(Yicai Global) June 16 -- Shares of China Commodities City Group jumped after the owner of Yiwu-based commodity trading platform ChinaGoods.Com said that it has purchased software developer Anmu Culture Media for CNY449 million (USD70.1 million) to gain an internet payment license.

Shares of China Commodities [SHA:600415] soared as much as 7 percent to CNY5.83 (90 US dollar cents) intraday.

With the purchase, ChinaGoods.Com can reduce its payment costs and improve its customer experience, the Zhejiang province-based parent said in a statement yesterday.

The permits have become a hot commodity in the expanding mobile wallets sector after the central bank said in 2016 that it will not issue any more of them. More than 250 institutions had such licenses in May.

Established in 1993, state-owned China Commodities operates the massive Yiwu China Small-Commodities City which offers international trading of small hardware, clothing, and daily necessities. ChinaGoods.Com is a channel for the tens of thousands of merchants to sell their products online.

Founded in 2010, Hangzhou-based Anmu logged a CNY5.1 million (USD800,790) net loss in the first quarter. Its revenue was CNY22 million (USD3.4 million).

China Commodities boosted its gains in the first quarter. Its net profit jumped 41 percent to CNY377 million from a year ago while its revenue climbed 2 percent to CNY773 million. In 2020, its net profit slid 26 percent to CNY927 million from 2019.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi