ZHAOJIN Mining Industry Co, the biggest gold miner in eastern China's Shandong Province, has raised HK$2.19 billion (US$282 million) in a Hong Kong initial public offering, two bankers involved in the transaction said yesterday.

Zhaojin sold 172.8 million new shares, or a 25 percent stake, for HK$12.68 each, according to the bankers, who declined to be identified. The company priced the stock between HK$9.80 to HK$12.68 after fund managers ordered more than the number of shares that were on offer, Bloomberg reported.

South Africa's Standard Bank Group and Kuwait's Global Investment House are among companies investing in Zhaojin, which is benefiting from a surge in gold prices.

Hong Kong shares in the two other internationally traded Chinese gold producers, Zijin Mining Group Co and Lingbao Gold Co, have more than doubled this year.

"Commodities are enjoying a good long-term trend, and there are not many gold-mining stocks listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange," said Diane Wen Zhang-Goldberg, who helps oversee about HK$12 billion as a fund manager at Carmignac Gestion in Paris.

Hong Kong individual investors ordered about 530 times the shares originally offered to them. To meet demand from individuals, the portion of initial public offering stock reserved for fund managers was cut from 90 percent to 50 percent.

The stock orders reflect a growing demand for protection against a falling dollar, said Tat Auyeung, who helps manage about $400 million in Asia stocks at Apex Capital Management in Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong dollar tumbled for a second consecutive week last week, dropping 1.8 percent to $1.3331 per euro, its lowest level since March 2005. Gold recorded a second consecutive weekly gain in London, taking the advance for the year to 25 percent.

Chris Cockerill, a Hong Kong-based spokesman for UBS AG, which is arranging the sale, said he didn't have knowledge of the pricing information.