China Railway Construction, a state-backed railway builder, has announced a plan to raise US$500 million by issuing a bond convertible shares to fund business operations.

The company has engaged JP Morgan, China International Capital Corp and UBS as joint lead managers of the bond issuance, which is convertible into shares equivalent to 2.7% of its total issued shares. The zero-coupon will not pay interest and will mature in five years.

The conversion price on Tuesday 19 was HK$10.30 per Hong Kong-listed H-share, 37.5% higher than the closing price of HK$7.49 on Monday.

The company plans to use the proceeds to fund domestic and overseas projects, investment, potential mergers and acquisitions, bolster working capital and repay bank loans.

Its last equity fund-raising exercise took place in December 2014, when it raised US$188 million by selling mainland-traded A shares to 10 subscribers to finance projects and repay loans.