SYDNEY, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Australia's Queensland state government raised A$4.6 billion ($4.54 billion) on Saturday with the float of its QR National rail-freight business, pricing the shares near the bottom end of its indicative price range.
The Queensland government said it was selling 60 percent of QR National in Australia's biggest float in more than a decade, for total proceeds of A$4.6 billion, including $4.05 billion worth of shares allocated to investors.
The government will retain up to 40 percent in the firm, which relies heavily on a coal-haulage business with China as its main customer.
QR National breaks a drought in large share offers in Australia since the global economic downturn, and investors hope a successful float may open the door to a series of stalled IPOs in the new year.
The shares are due to start trading on the Australian stock exchange on Monday under the symbol QRN. (Reporting by Narayanan Somasundaram; Editing by Mark Bendeich)