NEW YORK (Dow Jones) -- Melco PBL Entertainment Ltd. priced above its range in anticipation of a Tuesday stock-market debut as Wall Street opened its wallet for the developer and operator of casinos in the rapidly growing gambling center of Macau, China.

It's the largest of three IPOs from China scheduled to make their U.S. trading debuts.

Melco PBL (MPEL) priced 60.25 million American depositary shares at $19 each, raising $1.1 billion, in a dead heat with SAIC (SAI) for the third richest U.S. IPO of the year after the $2.4 billion MasterCard (NYSE:MA) (MA) IPO and the $1.4 billion Douglas Emmett (NYSE:DEI) (DEI) deal.

In a sign of keen interest in the deal, the Melco increased the size of the IPO from 53 million shares while pricing above its $16-to-$18 range.

The IPO tapped into enthusiasm over the gambling business in China as investors bank on Macau to challenge Las Vegas as the world's largest betting destination.

Melco PBL is a joint venture between Lawrence Ho, son of Macau casino mogul Stanley Ho, and Australia's Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd. (Australia:PBL)

Melco PBL bought its license to build a Macau gambling house for $900 million from Steve Wynn.

Fund manager Renaissance Capital tapped the deal as itsand said it's the first pure-play investment opportunity in Macau even as Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ-NMS:WYNN) (WYNN) and Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) (LVS) have grown operations there.

"Although Melco PBL's early stage of development certainly makes it a risky investment, we believe investors in its IPO will be winners in the long run," Renaissance Capital said. "The explosive growth in Macau and its long-term potential with its proximity to huge Asian populations are just too hard to overlook."

Trina Solar IPO shines

Meanwhile, Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE:TSL) (TSL) , the Changzhou, China, integrated manufacturer of solar-power products, priced its IPO of 5.3 million American depositary shares at $18.50 each, raising $98 million. The IPO opened at $26 and changed hands at $21.76 in the open market.

The offering price had been estimated in a range of $13.50 to $15.50.

The ADSs, each representing 100 ordinary shares of Trina Solar, begin trading Tuesday under the symbol "TSL," Trina Solar said in a statement.

Trina Solar has given the underwriters an option to buy as many as 800,000 additional shares. Merrill Lynch & Co. led the offering.

Claymont Steel fattens IPO, price at top of range

Claymont Steel (NASDAQ-NMS:PLTE) (PLTE) priced 8.7 million shares at $17 in a bid to raise $148 million in its initial public offering on Tuesday.

The company boosted the size of the IPO from 6.25 million shares and priced at the top of its $15-$17 range.

The Delaware company bills itself as the only non-union mini-mill focused on the manufacture and sale of custom discrete steel plate in North America.

Upon completion of the IPO, Miami-based private equity firm H.I.G. Capital LLC, Inc. will control 10,241,303 shares of Claymont's common stock representing 58% of all shares outstanding.

For the 39 weeks ended Sept. 30, the company reported net income of nearly $30 million on revenue of $248 million.

Small offering for Fuwei Films

Also Tuesday, Fuwei Films (Holdings) Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ-NMS:FFHL) (FFHL) said its IPO priced at $ 8.28 a share, near the low end of its estimated $8-to-$10 price range.

The China-based maker of plastics used in packaging raised $31 million by offering 3.75 million shares.

McCaw's Clearwire refiles $400 mln IPO

Clearwire Corp. on Tuesday filed plans to raise up to $400 million in an initial public offering with underwriters Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanely and J.P. Morgan.

The Kirkland, Wash. builder of wireless networks for broadband services plans to trade on the Nasdaq under the symbol CLWR.

For the nine months ended Sept. 30, the company reported a loss of $192 million on revenue of $76 million, compared to a loss of $90 million on revenue of $15 million in the year-ago period.

The company filed its IPO in May but withdrew the deal in July.

Wireless pioneer Craig McCaw owns 83% of the company.

Freedom Acquisition IPO swells to $400 mln

Freedom Acquisition Holdings Inc. on Monday increased the maximum dollar proceeds of its upcoming initial public offering to $400 million from $300 million.

Freedom Acquisition is a blank check company recently formed by Berggruen Holdings North America Ltd. and Marlin Equities to acquire one or more operating businesses.

Berggruen Holdings is a private investment firm with stakes in branded consumer goods businesses, services, light manufacturing, distribution, telecom and media.

The company plans to trade on the American Stock Exchange under the symbol FRH.

John Fitzgibbon of IPOScoop.com said the richest blank check IPO in his database is Marathon Acquisition, which raised $300 million on Aug. 24, 2006

    (END) Dow Jones Newswires   12-19-06 1033   Copyright (c) 2006 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.