(Yicai Global) Dec. 7 -- Chinese homebuilder Shimao Group Holdings plans to sell HKD1.2 billion (USD154 million) of new shares to repay debt and fund general corporate purposes.

Shimao will sell 145 million shares, accounting for about 3.8 percent of the total outstanding after the issuance, the Hong Kong-based firm said in a statement today. They are priced at HKD8.10 (USD1.04) apiece, a more than 10 percent discount on today’s closing price.

Shares of Shimao [HKG: 0813] finished 1.7 percent higher today at HKD9.05 (USD1.16), after plunging as much as 7.5 percent and climbing up to 3 percent.

A liquidity crisis has beset the country’s real estate developers, including sector giant China Evergrande Group, since the second half of this year, sending firms scrambling to raise funds through various means to pay back maturing debts.

Shimao also recently pledged its headquarters building in Shanghai to raise capital, a move the firm described as “a routine operation that it has carried out several other times in the past,” The Paper reported on Dec. 2.

Xu Rongmao, Shimao’s largest shareholder and chairman, will see his stake in the company fall to 63.8 percent from 66.3 percent after the share sale.

Founded in 1989, Shimao is also involved in other fields including commerce, hospitality, and finance. Revenue rose 13.7 percent to CNY73.4 billion (USD11.5 billion) in the six months ended June 30 from a year earlier, per its semi-annual earnings report. Net profit was CNY6.3 billion (USD989 million), up 19.3 percent.

Editor: Futura Costaglione