HONG KONG, Oct 24 (Reuters) - China's largest mini-car and helicopter maker, AviChina Industry & Technology Co Ltd, will sell more shares to the public after the retail portion of its IPO was over 150 times covered, a banking source said on Friday.
The company will allocate 50 percent of its initial public offering shares to retail investors in Hong Kong, up from 10 percent initially, the source said.
AviChina is raising up to HK$1.93 billion (US$247.44 million) from a stock listing in Hong Kong, making it the first offspring of China's military conglomerates to sell shares to the public.
Final pricing of the deal is expected on Saturday, with trading in AviChina shares set to begin on Hong Kong's main board on October 30.
The company, the civil unit of Chinese defence conglomerate Aviation Industry Corp of China II (AVIC II), is the biggest mini-car maker in the country with a 41 percent market share.
It is also the only domestic mass producer of helicopters and regional jets in China.
Beijing-based AviChina was selling 1.599 billion shares, or 35 percent of its enlarged share capital, for the IPO sponsored by BOC International and ING Bank.
The company plans to use proceeds from the IPO to expand its production capacity for cars, and develop its helicopter and regional jet businesses.
(US$1=HK$7.8=8.28 yuan)