SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Shares in China Railway Group, the world's third-largest construction contractor, rose 69 percent on their Shanghai debut on Monday, calming investor fears that big Chinese listings could be running out of steam.

Buoyed by its near monopoly of China's fast-growing railway construction sector, China Railway raised $3 billion in its Shanghai initial public offer (IPO), mainland China's eighth-biggest. It raised another $2.5 billion from an IPO in Hong Kong, where it debuts on Friday.
Analysts had warned a lackluster debut could dent confidence in Shanghai and Hong Kong, where markets have seen steep falls in recent weeks, but many saw China Railway's debut as reasonable and a potentially stabilizing influence.
""China Railway's closing price inclined slightly to the high end but was more reasonable than many previous debutants, whose first-day prices hit 30 or even 50 percent higher than analysts had expected,"" said analyst Zhou Lin at Huaxia Securities.
""Its relatively good debut bodes well for coming large IPOs. At the same time, it could be followed by a slow but steady rise, which would help stabilize the index,"" he said.
The local-currency A shares closed at 8.09 yuan, compared with an IPO price of 4.8 yuan, valuing China Railway at nearly $23 billion. Analysts had predicted opening day gains of anywhere between 50 and 80 percent.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ended Monday down 0.07 percent, and has dropped by more than a fifth from a record high in mid-October.
Retail investors who grabbed shares during China Railway's IPO appeared to be happy with the pricing. The offering had attracted a record $457 billion in subscriptions.
""New stocks are like a chance for us to win a prize,"" said Wu Laidi, who bought 1,000 shares in the IPO. ""We can recoup some of our funds from this because we have lost quite a bit in the market.""
($1=7.39 Yuan)