In a surprise move, the company is shellingout over $100m for a 30% stake in Mineriver, a Singapore-registered vehiclewhich plans to explore for nickel and magnesium in the Xinjiang UygurAutonomous Region of China.

Singapore-listed JES says the investmentwill balance out the cyclical nature of its core business which is going through arough patch due to the shipping downturn.

“The signing of the investment agreement isan important step towards the realisation of our overall group strategy, whichis to increase our earnings stream that is independent of the cyclical effectin the shipbuilding industry,” said Jin Xin, CEO of JES International.

JES