China Molybdenum raises $95m in share sale

China Molybdenum Co Ltd, a major Chinese producer of tungsten and molybdenum, raised a much less-than-expected 600 million yuan ($95 million) through a share offering in Shanghai, reflecting slack demand for resource-related firms amid a slowing economy.

China Molybdenum sold 200 million shares at 3 yuan apiece, it said in a filing to the Shanghai stock exchange late on Thursday.

It had said it was planning to raise 3.65 billion yuan by selling no more than 542 million shares to build new projects.

The sluggish performance of China's stock market has dented investor appetite for new share issues, forcing a number of companies, including China Communications Construction Co Ltd and CITIC Heavy Industries Co, to either postpone offerings or downsize their deals.

China Molybdenum recorded a net profit attributable to shareholders of 720.7 million yuan in the first half of this year, it said. Its profit rose 9.6 percent in 2011 to 1.12 billion yuan, it said, but gave no breakdown for the first half of 2011.

The producer of molybdenum and tungsten, which are used in steel products, is the latest Chinese firm to tap mainland investors for funds after initially going public in Hong Kong.

Essence Securities and BOC International (China) Ltd were the underwriters for the deal, while UBS and CCB International acted as financial advisers.