BYD plans to buy back shares worth RMB 1.8 billion to RMB 1.85 billion for its employee stock ownership plan.

After its share price hit an all-time high last October, BYD's shares traded in China's A-share market slumped along with the overall market. Now, the company has announced a buyback program.

BYD (SHE: 002594) plans to buy back between RMB 1.8 billion and RMB 1.85 billion worth of shares at a price not exceeding RMB 300 per share, the Shenzhen-traded company said in an announcement today.

The repurchased shares will all be used for the employee stock ownership plan, and the unused portion will be canceled and the registered capital reduced, BYD said.

Under the condition that the price of buyback shares does not exceed RMB 300 per share, the number of the shares is expected to be no less than 6,166,667, accounting for about 0.212 percent of the company's current total issued share capital, as measured by the buyback amount ceiling of RMB 1.85 billion, according to the announcement.

The number of buyback shares is expected to be no less than 6,000,000 shares, accounting for about 0.206 percent of the company's current total issued share capital, as measured by the lower limit of RMB 1.8 billion for the buyback amount, BYD said.

BYD rose 0.58 percent to RMB 235.4 today, after the stock fell 24 percent since its record high of RMB 333.33 on October 26 last year.

In a separate announcement, BYD said it plans to launch an employee stock ownership plan, with the total number of participants in the plan not exceeding 12,000.

Under the plan, BYD will transfer the company's shares to be bought back through non-transactional transfer and other legally permissible means, at a transfer price of RMB 0/share, with no capital contribution required from the participants.

The total number of BYD shares held by the employee stock ownership plan does not exceed 10 percent of the company's total share capital, BYD said.