POLY Real Estate Group Co is planning to raise as much as 19.42 billion yuan (US$2.52 billion) through a new share sale to fund nine real estate projects in seven Chinese cities, China's largest state-owned developer told Shanghai Stock Exchange yesterday.

The Guangzhou-based company may sell as many as 350 million yuan-denominated shares at 55.48 yuan apiece. Citic Securities Co will manage Poly's share sale, which will start on August 1, according to the statement.

The nine projects, three in Guangzhou and one each in Foshan, Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Shenyang and Chongqing, are mainly residential developments and are estimated to receive a combined investment of 13.4 billion yuan, Poly said.

Real estate players in China have been seeking funds to expand their portfolios across the country as the domestic property market has boomed. The National Development and Reform Commission said recently on its Website that housing prices in the country's 70 major cities surged an average 7.1 percent last month from a year earlier.

However, finance for property developments in China has been harder to come by over the past six months.