China's Huaxia Bank plans private share placement

March 18 (Reuters) - Mid-sized Chinese commercial bank Huaxia Bank Co Ltd (600015.SS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Tuesday it was issuing 11.56 billion yuan ($1.63 billion) worth of new shares with three institutions in a private placement.

Germany's Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Chinese steelmaker Shougang Group and power grid operator State Grid Corp will subscribe to the shares in the private placement, which is aimed at boosting the bank's core capital, Huaxia said.

The shares will be priced at 90 percent of the average price over the past 20 trading days.

Huaxia Bank's shares closed on Monday at 14.84 yuan.

The deal will be subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals.

The bank also on Tuesday reported a 44 percent increase in net profit for 2007. [ID:nPEK284663] (Reporting by Edmund Klamann; editing by Ken Wills)