CHINA Railway Group Ltd, which last year became the world's third-largest contractor in revenue, has set the price range of its A-share initial public offering at 4 yuan to 4.8 yuan per share.

Previous market expectations were for a minimum price of 2.6 yuan. The IPO could raise up to 22.4 billion yuan (US$3 billion). The price-earning ratio, based on projected 2007 net profits and an enlarged total of 17.475 billion shares, is forecast at 22.25-26.70.