Great Wall will sell 304.2 million shares at 13 yuan to 14 yuan each, the company said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The Baoding, China-based automaker had planned to raise as much as 3.17 billion yuan, according to its prospectus.

The maker of Hover sport-utility vehicles is raising funds to pay for expansion amid a 12 percent slump in the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index this year. The company said last month it's seeking money to accelerate project construction and boost the output of engines, transmissions, axles and brakes, aluminum alloy cast parts, decoration and lighting.

Great Wall is selling stock as automobile sales in China slow from last year's record 32 percent gain after the government removed sales-tax breaks and rebates for rural purchases. Total vehicle deliveries expanded 3.3 percent in the first eight months, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

First-half net income rose to 1.81 billion yuan from 867 million yuan last year, the company said last month in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange. Sales gained 50 percent to 13.7 billion yuan.
Hong Kong

Great Wall went public in Hong Kong in December 2003, making it the first privately owned Chinese auto assembler listed in the city. Its stock was 682 times oversubscribed at the time.

The company started operations last month at a new factory in the eastern Chinese city of Tianjin and plans to expand the plant's annual capacity to 200,000 units a year from an initial 50,000 units.

The automaker has been the biggest manufacturer of pickup trucks in China since 1998 and started making cars in 2008, according to its prospectus. Sales of its cars, including the Coolbear and Voleex C30, rose 76 percent last year to 123,000 units, according to data released by the auto association.

BYD Co., the Chinese carmaker backed by Warren Buffett, raised 1.42 billion yuan in its share sale in Shenzhen in June, 35 percent less than it sought. The stock has fallen 17 percent since its debut on June 30.