JIHONG CO (02603) surged more than 3% before noon, with a gain of 2.03% at the time of writing, trading at HK$12.05 and recording a turnover of HK$244 million.

The company recently announced progress on its packaging production base in the Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone of the UAE. JIHONG CO and its partners have invested approximately $45 million in the facility, which has now completed its main structure and external works, with interior finishing underway. This marks the company's first overseas factory.

Chairman Zhuang Hao stated that the base is expected to commence operations by March 2026. According to public market data, construction of the packaging production base began in late February this year. Once fully operational, the facility will produce 24 million standard cartons of tobacco paper packaging annually, along with supporting cardboard box packaging output of 35,000 to 50,000 tons per year.

Zhuang Hao emphasized that the company's overseas expansion is not merely about selling packaging products abroad but aims to transition from "product export" to "brand export." By establishing the production base in the UAE, JIHONG CO plans to leverage local partners' resources to build a sales network and accelerate the global expansion of "Made with China's Intelligence."