China State Construction says in $288m share sale

HONG KONG -- China State Construction International Holdings said on Wednesday it is selling HK$2.23 billion ($287.50 million) worth of new shares to its major shareholder, China Overseas Holdings, to raise funds for spending on affordable housing projects.

In a securities filing to the Hong Kong bourse, the Chinese construction and civil engineering company said it is selling 300 million new shares to China Overseas Holdings at HK$7.57 a piece, or a 9.9 percent discount to the previous close.

Shares of China State Construction have risen more than 52 percent so far this year, compared to a 5.5 percent gain in the benchmark Hang Seng Index.

China Overseas Holdings will buy the new shares after it completes sales of the same amount of existing shares at the same price to third-party investors, it said.

Its shareholding in the company will be lowered to 57.07 percent on completion of the deal from 61.85 percent, the filing added.

Reuters had reported on Tuesday that China State Construction planned to raise about $201 million in a Hong Kong share offering. The deal size may be increased by as much as $100 million.