SAIC Motor (600104.SH), China’s largest domestic carmaker, will raise up to US$1.47 billion in a private share placement, reported Bloomberg. The additional capital will be used towards helping the carmaker develop its own brand in the domestic market. The private placement will involve the sale of as many as 900 million A-shares, with parent company Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. agreeing to purchase 10% of those shares for nearly US$147 million. China’s government has encouraged domestic auto manufacturers to develop their own brands to compete with foreign manufacturers in China, which became the world’s largest automobile market in 2009. SAIC plans to sell 180,000 of its branded vehicles this year. Trading of SAIC shares has been halted since June 18.
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