HONG KONG - PetroChina Co., a listed unit of state-owned China National Petroleum Corp., said Wednesday it plans to issue up to 4 billion yuan-denominated A shares in a public offering in Shanghai to raise money for exploration and development of petroleum resources, construction of a refinery and overseas acquisitions.

PetroChina is listed in Hong Kong and has American Depositary Receipts that trade in New York.

Other Chinese state companies in Hong Kong have recently applied to list in Shanghai, including China Cosco Holdings Ltd., which announced Tuesday that it had raised 15.13 billion Chinese yuan (US$1.99 billion; euro1.48 billion) in a share offering ahead of a June 26 listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Last Friday, China Construction Bank Corp., one of China's Big Four state-owned banks, said it will see shareholder approval and regulatory clearance to sell up to 9 billion A shares in Shanghai.

PetroChina did not disclose a target price for its share sale in Shanghai. It said in a statement to the Hong Kong Exchange that it will use money from the sale for "exploration and development of our domestic petroleum and gas resources; the construction of our large-scale refinery, petrochemical and gas pipeline projects; and the acquisition of overseas petroleum and gas resources."