GUOYUAN Securities Co, the nation's fourth-largest publicly traded brokerage, said yesterday that it plans to raise as much as 12 billion yuan (US$1.7 billion) selling shares in a private placement to fund expansion.
Guoyuan, based in Anhui Province, will sell as many as 500 million new shares to institutional investors at no less than 19.88 yuan a share, the company said in a statement to the Shenzhen stock exchange.
Bloomberg News reported that proceeds will be used to improve its underwriting business, add new outlets through acquisitions and beef up its asset management unit. Guoyuan started trading in October after taking over a China Petrochemical Corp unit, a move enabling it to circumvent a rule requiring Chinese companies to have been profitable for at least three years before going public.
Guoyuan's shares fell 3.14 percent to 27.79 yuan Shenzhen, extending this year's loss to 28 percent.