Shanghai - Giant Interactive Group (NYSE: GA), the third-largest developer and operator of online games in China, announced on Thursday that it raised about $887 million in its initial public offering (IPO) of shares on the New York Stock Exchange.

The company offered 57.2 million shares priced at $15.50 — above the expected range of $12-$14 — and shares were up over 18% in trading on Thursday afternoon.

Shanghai-based Giant competes in the online games space in China with NetEase, Shanda and The9.

The company's "ZT Online" title claims 1.3 million active subscribers, and was the most popular online game in China in 2006.

Giant has also created a distribution network that includes over 116,000 retail outlets in China that sell the prepaid game cards and game points required to play its games.

The company will use the proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, including capital expenditures and possible future acquisitions.

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http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/071101/cnth024.html?.v=11

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/071101/giant_interactive_ipo_pricing.html (AP)