China State Shipbuilding, part of the world's third-largest shipbuilder, said on Tuesday it had completed an offer of 12 billion yuan (US$1.60 billion) worth of new shares, sold at one-eighth the current price of its Shanghai-listed shares.

China State Shipbuilding said it had sold 400 million new shares to eight investors at 30 yuan each, well below its closing price of 249.70 yuan on Monday. The stock rose 1.7 percent to 253.98 yuan by midday on Tuesday.

The company received 3 billion yuan in cash and the remaining 9 billion yuan in shipbuilding assets from its parent, the statement said.

The company initially announced the share sale plan in January, when its shares were traded around 30 yuan. It obtained regulatory approval for the offer in July.

The stock has soared nearly 700 percent this year, as the company, previously known as Hudong Heavy Machinery Co, received an injection of shipbuilding assets from its parent.

The investors buying the new shares include its parent company, China State Shipbuilding Corp, top Chinese steelmaker Baosteel Group, China Life Insurance Co and financial conglomerate CITIC Group.

China State Shipbuilding has said it would buy more assets from its parent as it steps up expansion to meet robust demand. But it has ruled out the possibility of taking over two of its major sister companies, Jiangnan Shipyard Co and Hudong Zhonghua Shipbuilding Co, in the near term.

The company's first-half net profit surged 97 percent to 199.34 million yuan on strong demand for ship engines.