Crane maker to sell new shares

SHANGHAI Zhenhua Port Machinery Co, maker of most of the world's quayside cranes, may raise 3.65 billion yuan (US$486 million) selling new shares to fund production expansion and enlarge cash reserves.

The company will start selling as many as 200 million shares on October 15 in Shanghai at 29.08 yuan each, it said in a statement to the city's stock exchange yesterday. That's five percent lower than the company's closing share price of 30.59 yuan on Wednesday.

Zhenhua said it will use the money to build crane and component production sites near Shanghai, adding about 12 billion yuan to its annual sales. The company, which makes about 70 percent of the world's container cranes, is expanding its production base to meet rising demand from ports and shippers as trade increases.