Iljin"s elecfoil. [Photo by Iljin Materials]

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South Korea’s Iljin Materials said on Wednesday it will boost the capacity of its lithium battery material plant in Malaysia with a new investment of about 600 billion won ($513 million) pulled from a local private equity fund.

The company’s Malaysian affiliate has attracted 600 billion won from STIC Investments, a South Korean private equity fund. The investment will be used to boost the production of elecfoil at the Malaysian plant from 10,000 tons per year to 80,000 tons. Iljin's plant in South Korea produces 20,000 tons per year.

Elecfoil, a thin copper foil, is a key material for rechargeable batteries.

Iljin Materials said it will also issue some 300 billion won of perpetual convertible bonds this month to expand facilities in Malaysia. The company said it plans to focus on elecfoil for high-value semiconductor packaging in Korea, while its Malaysian plant will be specialized in elecfoil for secondary batteries.

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