BEIJING -- Sinohydro Group Ltd, China's largest hydroelectric power plant builder, saw its shares surge on the first day of trading.

The company's shares opened 6.22 percent higher than the price of its initial public offering (IPO) and soared 12 percent to 5.04 yuan (79?cents) at the Shanghai Stock Exchange at around 10 am on Tuesday morning.

Sinohydro set its IPO price at 4.5 yuan per share, the lower end of the pricing range of its 3-billion-share offering launched last month.

The company said on Sept 29 it had raised 13.5 billion yuan ?from its IPO, setting a record in China's domestic A-share markets this year.