SHANGHAI listed China Shipbuilding Industry plans to sell US$1.9 billion in shares to help fund its acquisition of seven affiliates, including makers of torpedoes and submarine telescopes, Bloomberg reported.

Parent company China Shipbuilding Industry Corp and nine other institutional investors have agreed to buy up to one billion new shares in the private placement.

The proceeds will also support a project to produce equipment for the Chinese navy's nuclear-powered vessels - a deal that could boost company earnings by 20 per cent this year, China Jianyin Securities analyst Zhen Yi said.