(Yicai Global) Aug. 19 -- Multinational investment banks Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan Chase, and UBS Group are participating in Chinese display panel giant BOE Technology Group's CNY20.3 billion (USD3.1 billion) private placement.

Twenty institutions are joining the private placement, the Beijing-based electronic components producer said in a statement yesterday.

Jingguorui State-Owned Enterprise Reform and Development Fund, an equity fund under Beijing government, is the biggest financier this time with its CNY4 billion (USD616 million). Morgan Stanley is No. 4 with its CNY1.5 billion. J.P. Morgan Chase Bank and J.P. Morgan Securities will jointly invest nearly CNY1.2 billion. UBS will spend CNY538 million (USD83.1 million).

The Beijing fund will have a nearly 1.9 percent stake in BOE after the deal is closed, ranking fourth among BOE's shareholders. None of the three foreign investment banks will make it to the list of BOE's top 10 shareholders after the transfers.

BOE unveiled the fundraiser plan in January to expand its output and ease its debts amid rising demand. The firm intends to increase its stake in an active-matrix organic light-emitting diode panel project in Central China’s Wuhan, build a new AMOLED panel project in southwestern China’s Chongqing, and construct a micro OLED panel project in Yunnan province.

The display panel sector is growing. Global shipments will be having a compound annual growth rate of 7 percent, and innovative applications, including vehicle displays, smart home appliances, and wearables, should make up more than three-quarters of that, Liu Xiaodong, the firm’s president, said at a conference in June.

BOE’s stock price [SHE: 000725] was 1.9 percent up at CNY5.78 (89 US dollar cents) in the afternoon.

Editor: Emmi Laine