Panjiang Coal, a coking coal producer based in Southwest China's Guizhou Province, said on Thursday it plans to issue 7 billion yuan ($1.02 billion) worth of news shares in a private placement to acquire assets from its parent company.

Panjiang Coal plans to issue up to 318 million shares to its parent in exchange for control of mining rights in four coal mines and related production assets, the company said in a statement published in the Shanghai Securities News.

The shares will be priced at 22.02 yuan apiece, the average price over the last 20 trading days. Shares in Panjiang Coal closed at 26.91 yuan on May 6 before trading was suspended pending a statement.

China's coking coal prices more than doubled over the past year due to strong demand from the country's steel industry. Coking coal is processed into coke, a key material in blast furnace production of steel.

The deal is subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals.