China Resources Cement Holdings Ltd has announced that it plans to sell HKD4.19bn (US$533.98m) of new shares to its controlling shareholder, CRH Ltd, to raise capital for business development, repay debt and for working capital.

CRH will the buy the new shares following its sale of the same amount of existing shares at the same price to third-party investors. The shareholding of CRH and its associates in China Resources Cement will fall to 68.7 per cent from 73.5 per cent upon completion of the deal, according to Reuters.

China Resources Cement also noted that it expected to see a significant increase in 1H net profit due to the higher selling price of its cement products.