OCI raises US$700 mln via GDR issue

SEOUL, May 25 (Yonhap) -- OCI Co., South Korea's leading manufacturer of polysilicon, said Wednesday that it has raised US$700 million by selling shares to overseas investors.
The global depository receipts (GDRs), or certificates of stock ownership, were priced at 510,000 won ($464) each, the company said. The GDRs represent 1.49 million common stocks, and will be listed on the Singapore Exchange on June 1, it said.
Credit Suisse Group AG, Barclays Plc and Royal Bank of Scotland Group arranged the sale, the company said.
The proceeds from the sale of GDRs will be used to fund its facility expansion, it said earlier.
OCI is seeking to expand facilities that produce polysilicon, a key material for solar energy. Earlier it said that it plans to spend 1.8 trillion won on building a new plant in the country.
OCI said its annual production capacity of polysilicon will amount to 86,000 tons by 2013, from the current 27,000 tons.
In the first three months of this year, OCI has received polysilicon orders worth around 3.7 trillion won.
Shares of OCI were trading at 452,500 won on the Seoul bourse as of 2:10 p.m., down 8.77 percent.
sam@yna.co.kr