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.

Shenhua Energy, already listed in Hong Kong, has said it plans to issue up to 1.8 billion yuan-denominated A-shares at between 34.99 and 36.99 yuan each. The shares are expected to start trading in Shanghai on October 9.

It would raise up to 66.58 billion yuan in what is expected to be largest domestic share issue to date, if shares are priced at the top of the range.

Chinese authorities have been encouraging more domestic share issues to increase supply of stocks and mop up excessive liquidity in its booming capital market, where the key index has surged more than 100 percent this year.

China's securities regulators have approved the country's largest oil and gas company PetroChina's plan to issue up to four billion A-shares on the domestic market, the latest in a slew of large IPOs.