HK Stock Market Move | VIRTUAL MIND (01520) surged more than 8% in early trading, reaching a strategic cooperation agreement with China Resources Beijing to jointly develop the sports nutrition food market.

VIRTUAL MIND (01520) rose more than 8% in the morning session, and as of the time of writing, it had risen by 5.21% to HK$1.01. On the news front, VIRTUAL MIND announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Beijing 1520, has signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with China National Cereals, Oils, and Foodstuffs Corporation (COFCO) Beijing. According to the cooperation agreement, based on the principles of complementary advantages, resource sharing, mutual benefit, and long-term stable cooperation, both parties agreed to conduct in-depth strategic cooperation in the research and development, production, promotion, and sales of sports food products (including but not limited to sports drinks, sports supplements, etc.), jointly exploring the sports nutrition food market. The board of directors believes that COFCO Nutrition and Health Research Institute has a deep accumulation in food material research and development, supply chain management, and brand resources, and the group has advantages in operating and channel layout in the sports and new consumer markets. This strategic cooperation will achieve complementary resources and synergies between both parties, help enrich the product matrix of the group, and expand market space. In addition, the cooperation project is an important milestone for the company in the field of new consumer IPs, effectively enhancing the company's expansion in consumer-level IPs, improving the company's overall competitiveness, and is expected to bring new business growth points for the company, positively impacting the company's future development.