HONG KONG, Jan 16 (Reuters) - ZTE Corp said it was looking to raise 11.51 billion yuan ($1.7 billion) from a private placement of A shares, and that it plans to use the proceeds for research and development (R&D) of 5G networks as well as working capital.
The Chinese telecom equipment maker said on Thursday it planned to issue 381.098 million A shares, or 8.27% of the total issued share capital on completion of the deal, to independent third party investors at 30.21 yuan apiece.
That represents a discount of 18.2% to ZTE’s A-share closing price of 36.92 yuan in Shenzhen on Wednesday.
The deal will enable the company to maintain its high level of investment in R&D, ensure its technological competitive edge, develop its main products and businesses, as well as help increase its market share in the mainstream markets, it added. ($1 = 6.8899 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Donny Kwok; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
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