(Yicai Global) April 27 -- Shares in Shanghai Challenge Textile hit the daily up limit in trading today after the sportswear manufacturer revealed it had secured a EUR15.8 million (USD17.2 million) contract to sell personal protective clothing to Italy.

Its stock [SHE:002486] hit the 10 percent limit at CNY4.74 (67 US cents) within five minutes of the market opening and stayed there until trading closed.

Challenge’s subsidiary Challenge Textile Technology has penned a deal to sell an undisclosed quantity of medical isolation gowns to Azienda Regionale per L'Innovazione e gli Acquisti, the parent said in a statement yesterday. The purchase is Challenge’s second with the buyer in a month and will involve delivery in batches between June and July this year.

Milan-based ARIA is a designated PPE buyer by the government of Lombardy, an area of Italy hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. Challenge penned anEUR14 million deal to sell equipment to the firm last month and the combined sales will make it one of the manufacturer’s largest clients this year, according to the statement.

Founded in 2001, Challenge usually produces high-end knitwear and international sportswear. It counts Polartec, Uniqlo, Adidas and other brands among its clients, but the Shanghai government commandeered its factories in February, China’s toughest month for the coronavirus outbreak, to make disposable medical gowns.

Editor: James Boynton