(Yicai Global) June 30 -- Sokon Industry Group’s shares slipped after the Chinese vehicle maker sold CNY2.6 billion (USD403 million) of new stock in a private placement at a 30 percent discount to the market price.

Sokon Industry [SHA:601127] ended today 4.9 percent down at CNY66.67 (USD10.32), after earlier slumping as much as 7.2 percent. The broader Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.5 percent.

The Chongqing-based company, which has received wide attention from investors this year due to its cooperation with Huawei Technologies, issued 56.4 million shares to 10 investors at CNY46 each, it said in a statement late yesterday.

GF Fund Management, a mutual fund company, bought the lion’s share, amounting to CNY1.2 billion. The new stock has a six-month lock-up period.

Parent company Sokon Holding and its concerted actors remain the largest shareholder, though their stake has dropped to 37.83 percent from 40.34 percent. Two funds under GF Fund have become the sixth- and ninth-biggest owners with 1.34 percent and 0.92 percent.

Sokon unveiled plans for the non-public share sale last October. It said the bulk of the funds raised would be invested the technical upgrade of its Seres smart electric vehicle brand, with a small portion allocated to building marketing channels and replenishing working capital.

Earlier this year, Seres announced that it had jointly developed a smart range-extension system with Shenzhen-based Huawei, and launched a new model called Huawei Seres SF5 based on that system.

As a result, Sokon’s stock price has set new records time and again, with a run up of almost 300 percent so far this year. But it has fallen 20.5 percent since hitting an all-time high of CNY83.83 on June 22.

Editor: Tom Litting