(Yicai Global) June 15 -- Shares of Pengdu Agriculture and Animal Husbandry gained after the Chinese company announced plans to invest CNY3.4 billion (USD531 million) to expand its beef production by importing more than 200,000 breeding cattle by the end of this year.

While major domestic stock indexes fell today, shares in the Hunan province-based company [SHE:002505] closed up 2.7 percent at CNY2.3 (4 US cents) each. Earlier in the day, they jumped as much as 5.4 percent.

Pengdu will entrust Xiongte Animal Husbandry, a Beijing-based livestock importer and breeder, with bringing in 200,000 cows and 545 bulls from potential sources such as Australia, New Zealand, Uruguay and Chile, the company said in a statement. It did not identify the source of the funds.

Pengdu has a production base for imported cows in Ruili, Yunnan province that processes 500,000 cattle a year and has a 10,000-ton cold storage facility. The firm also owns and operates six cattle feedlots in neighboring countries, according to its website.

Editor: Tom Litting