China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said on Friday that it would review the application of the initial public offering (IPO) of the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) on June 9.

The CSRC released the Shanghai IPO preliminary prospectus of the ABC on its website. The ABC is the last of China's "big four" state-owned lenders to go public. According to the prospectus, ABC plans to sell up to 22.24 billion A shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchanges and up to 25.41 billion shares on the Hong Kong bourse, excluding an over-allotment option.

The funds raised from the Shanghai IPO would be used to enhance the bank's capital base, the prospectus said.

Net profits for ABC totaled 24.97 billion yuan ($3.66 billion) by the end of March this year, compared with 18.03 billion yuan during the same period last year, according to the website.

The other three state-owned banks -- the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Bank of China, have been successfully listed on both Shanghai and Hong Kong bourses.

(Xinhua News Agency June 5, 2010)