SHANGHAI, Sept 26, 2007 (AFP) - China's top coal producer Shenhua Energy has attracted a record 2.67 trillion yuan (355 billion dollars) in orders for its Shanghai initial public offering, state press said Wednesday.

The figure exceeds the previous record set by China Construction Bank, which drew 2.26 trillion yuan in a share offer earlier this month, the China Securities Journal reported.

NEW YORK, Sept 25, 2007 (AFP) - Virgin Mobile USA, a joint Telecommunication venture between US firm Sprint Nextel and Virgin Group of Britain, said Tuesday it plans to raise about 400 million dollars in its market debut.

In a statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the US market regulator, the mobile phone operator said it was putting up for sale 25.6 million shares, representing 55 percent of the firm's total, at a price between 15 and 17 dollars per share.

SHANGHAI, Sept 25, 2007 (AFP) - Investors gave China Construction Bank a hearty welcome to the Shanghai bourse on Tuesday, driving its shares up as much as 40 percent after China's second-largest initial public offering ever.

It was the latest in a string of multi-billion dollar IPOs in China, where the government is hoping to cool the surging stock market -- which is up more than 100 percent this year -- with a flood of new shares.

SHANGHAI, Sept 25, 2007 (AFP) - China regulators have oil and gas giant PetroChina approval for a domestic stock market listing, the latest in a wave of initial public offerings here.

The nation's largest energy group won the nod from the China Securities Regulatory Commission late Monday, according to a statement on the commission website.

PetroChina, already listed in Hong Kong and New York, plans to issue up to four billion yuan-denominated A shares, according to a draft prospectus released last week.

SHANGHAI, Sept 25, 2007 (AFP) - China Construction Bank, which raised 57.12 billion yuan (7.6 billion dollars) in its initial public offering, saw its shares jump 33 percent in their debut in Shanghai on Tuesday.

Shares of China's second-largest bank by assets, which already has a listing in Hong Kong, opened 2.10 yuan higher at 8.55, after it offered nine billion shares to investors at 6.45 yuan per share.

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 23, 2007 (AFP) - Malaysia's long-haul budget carrier AirAsia X plans to raise 1.0 billion ringgit (294 million dollars) on the local bourse to fund the purchase of new aircraft for European routes, a top official said.

'The floating of the IPO (initial public offering) we are looking at three years down the road,' AirAsia X chief executive officer Azran Osman-Rani told AFP. 'We plan to raise at least 1.0 billion ringgit on the local bourse.'

MOSCOW, Sept 21, 2007 (AFP) - Russian aluminium producer Rusal said Friday it had given up plans to float on the London stock exchange by the end of the year, blaming financial market turmoil.

'The IPO (initial public offering) is frozen due to the current state of the markets,' Rusal shareholder Viktor Vekselberg told Interfax news agency.

But the company insisted it would eventually put its shares up for sale in London.

SHANGHAI, Sept 19, 2007 (AFP) - China Construction Bank said Wednesday it had raised 58.05 billion yuan (7.7 billion dollars) through its Shanghai initial public offering (IPO), making it the largest domestic IPO to date.

The bank, already listed in Hong Kong, offered nine billion yuan denominated A shares at 6.45 yuan each, the top end of an indicative range of 6.15 yuan to 6.45 yuan, according to a statement filed with Shanghai Stock Exchange.

TOKYO, Sept 18, 2007 (AFP) - Sony Corp's financial arm on Tuesday scaled down its giant initial public offering as renewed worries about the fallout from a global credit squeeze sent financial shares tumbling.

The planned flotation, one of the biggest in Japan in recent years, is being closely watched as a test of investor appetite for financial shares following recent turbulence on global markets.

SHANGHAI, Sept 18, 2007 (AFP) - China Construction Bank, one of the nation's top lenders, has attracted a record 2.26 trillion yuan (297 billion dollars) of subscription funds in a Shanghai initial public offering (IPO), state press said Tuesday.

The offering met with strong demand due to a positive outlook for the bank combined with ample liquidity, the China Securities Journal reported, citing analysts.

BEIJING, Sept 18, 2007 (AFP) - PetroChina, the nation's largest oil company, plans to use proceeds from an upcoming domestic share sale on a huge refinery project in the country's resource-rich northwest, the government said Tuesday.

This is one of six projects to receive funds raised in the massive Shanghai initial public offering (IPO), said the State Environmental Protection Administration, which must assess the ecological impact.

BEIJING, Sept 13, 2007 (AFP) - Bank of Beijing, China's largest city bank, has attracted a record 1.9 trillion yuan (253 billion dollars) worth of subscriptions for an initial public offering (IPO), state media said Thursday.

The bank will issue 1.2 billion A shares on the Shanghai stock exchange at 12.5 yuan each, the China Securities Journal reported, which is at the high end of the projected price range between 11.5 yuan and 12.5 yuan, the report said.

BEIJING, Sept 7, 2007 (AFP) - Authorities in China on Friday approved plans by China Construction Bank (CCB), a state-owned commercial bank, to issue nearly nine billion new shares in what would be mainland China's biggest stock offering.

CCB, one of China's four biggest banks, has been listed in Hong Kong for the past two years, but it plans to list nearly nine billion local currency A shares representing 3.85 percent of its capital on the Shanghai stock exchange.

The banking regulator said on its website it had goven the go-ahead for the listing.

TOKYO, Sept 4, 2007 (AFP) - Sony Corp. said Tuesday it would list its financial arm next month in hopes of raising some three billion dollars to reinvest in the recovering group's core electronics business.

The initial public offering will be one of the largest in recent years and the biggest of 2007 at the Tokyo Stock Exchange, which is the world's second largest bourse.

TOKYO, Sept 4, 2007 (AFP) - Sony Corp. said Tuesday it will list its financial arm next month in hopes of raising some three billion dollars which it can reinvest in its core electronics business.

The iconic Japanese company is in the midst of a restructuring drive that has finally begun to bear fruit after years of suffering as rival Apple raced ahead with the iPod.

Sony Financial Holdings -- the holding firm of Sony Life Insurance, Sony Assurance and Sony Bank -- said it will sell 75,000 newly issues shares.

PRAGUE, Aug 29, 2007 (AFP) - Central Europe's biggest used car seller, the AAA Auto Group, will launch its shares on the Prague and Budapest stock exchanges in September following a public offers of shares, the Czech-based company announced on Wednesday.

Around 28 percent of the company will be offered through the public offer with trading of shares on the Prague exchange to launch on September 28 and in Budapest two days later.

The founder of the company in 1992, Australian-born businessman Anthony Denny, has until now been the sole shareholder.

MOSCOW, Aug 13, 2007 (AFP) - Gazprombank, a lender controlled by Russian gas giant Gazprom, plans to list its shares on the London and Moscow stock exchanges next year, a report said Monday citing a company document.

The bank hopes to raise 8 billion dollars (5.9 billion euros) by listing 15-20 percent of its shares in an initial public offering, Gazprombank's vice-president said, according to Interfax news agency.

The IPO had initially been planned for this year.

SHANGHAI, July 30, 2007 (AFP) - Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba Group, 40 percent owned by US-based Yahoo!, said Monday it aims to list its core business unit in Hong Kong in what could become the largest Chinese Internet IPO so far.

Hong Kong-based Alibaba spokeswoman Christina Splinder confirmed the plan, saying the company 'has been preparing for the IPO (initial public offering).' She did not provide more details.