CHINA Evergrande Group, the country’s No. 3 property developer by sales, said it would sell 60 billion yuan (US$9.05 billion) of shares in its property assets business that is slated for a backdoor listing in Shenzhen.

The developer plans to inject almost all of its property assets, held by Hengda Real Estate Group, into Shenzhen Real Estate.

This round of fundraising, the third so far, exceeds the strategic investments of 30 billion yuan to 50 billion yuan that the company had initially planned to gain.

Evergrande said the latest round means it has now raised a total of 130 billion yuan from investors who will hold about 36.5 percent of the enlarged equity interest of Hengda.

Among the six investors in this round, Shandong Highway Group Investment and Suning Electrical Appliances Group Investment will each subscribe for 20-billion-yuan new capital, while the rest will invest 5 million yuan each.

Evergrande is seeking a backdoor listing valued at 365.2 billion yuan in Shenzhen, aiming to take advantage of higher valuations commanded on the mainland. The plan will make it easier for heavily indebted Evergrande to raise funds.

The company’s shares have surged almost 500 percent this year, the top performer on the Hang Seng Composite Index, in response to the widely expected backdoor listing, fresh capital from strategic investors and share buybacks.

Brokerage firms including Morgan Stanley, Nomura and RHB Securities raised their target price for the developer, and said this third round of fundraising would further lower the company’s gearing and funding costs.(SD-Agencies)