Everbright Securities, China's tenth largest brokerage by market share, plans to raise up to $1.6bn in a revived initial public offering in Shanghai amid a rush of IPOs following the lifting of a nine-month government ban on new share sales.

The state-controlled company announced a price range of between Rmb19 and Rmb21.08 for each of the 520m shares it plans to sell to institutional and retail investors starting today, valuing the stock as high as 59 times its 2008 earnings. Chinese investors have rediscovered their enthusiasm for equities after the market collapsed last year and analysts say Everbright's offering is likely to be priced at the top of the range and will nevertheless still soar on its trading debut.

Since Beijing allowed new share sales to resume in June the five companies that have gone public jumped by an average of 112 per cent on their first trading day and all have sold their shares at the top of the range offered to investors. Last week China State Construction Engineering, which raised $7.3bn in the world's largest IPO this year, rose 56 per cent on its Shanghai debut.