China's Gangjiu to acquire port assets from parent

SHANGHAI, June 23 (Reuters) - Chongqing Gangjiu (600279.SS), a port operator in central Chongqing city, said on Monday it plans to acquire its parent's entire port assets worth as much as 1.5 billion yuan ($218 million).

Gangjiu plans to sell 144 million shares at a minimum of 10.41 yuan apiece to its parent, Chongqing Port & Logistics Group, and use the proceeds to buy the assets, the company said in a statement to the exchange.

Chongqing Gangjiu's shares last closed at 11.29 yuan.

The move would strengthen Gangjiu's finances and improve its profitability, it said in the statement.

Gangjiu's profit jumped 57.83 percent to 55.84 million yuan last year while sales grew 31.69 percent to 415 million yuan.

(US1=6.88 Yuan)

(Reporting by Samuel Shen; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree)