China Railway Construction Corp (CRCC) plans to privately place shares to raise as much as 9.9 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) to invest in domestic rail and tram projects, it said in a prospectus. The railway builder will issue up to 1.38 billion yuan-denominated Shanghai-listed A-shares at 7.20 yuan per share, it said. CRCC shares closed at 9.79 yuan per share on Dec. 8, a day before it suspended trading. China is stepping up infrastructure spending to support a slowing economy and on Monday its economic planner approved $31 billion of new construction projects including a third airport in Beijing. It has also signed off on at least three railway investments so far in December. CRCC said it would resume trading on Wednesday and intends to invest the placement's proceeds in rail projects in the southwestern Chinese cities of Chongqing and Chengdu. The company, which with its rival China Railway Group has built the bulk of the country's vast train network, is also leading China's push to win projects abroad. It recently won a $12 billion Nigerian railway deal and led a consortium that was the sole bidder for a $3.75 billion Mexican high-speed rail contract. (Reuters)