COFCO Property (Group) Co Ltd plans to raise up to 5 billion yuan ($768 million) in a private placement of shares to fund new projects and to repay debt.

Breaking down the detail, the subsidiary of State-owned China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corp will use half the money raised on new housing developments in major cities, and officials said it is already eyeing several high-end sites in Beijing, Shenzhen in Guangdong province and Yantai in Shandong province.

The Shenzhen-based property developer will spend 1.07 billion yuan on a 49 percent stake in Beijing-based COFCO Property Investment Co, and 400 million yuan on taking 100 percent control of COFCO Yantai Borui Real Estate Developmet Co, two of its subsidiaries.