BEIJING, April 18 (Xinhua) -- The Bank of Communications, China's fifth-largest lender, began Wednesday to accept bids that will determine the price of shares in its initial public offering.

    The bidding will last till next Monday in major Chinese cities of Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou, said the Kong Kong-listed bank in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

    It said the offer will be open to subscribers from institutional investors next Tuesday and Wednesday and those from retail investors next Wednesday, adding the IPO will be priced next Thursday.

    The bank, in which HSBC Holdings Plc. holds 19.9 percent stake, plans to issue 3.2 billion A-shares, accounting for 6.5 percent of the expanded stock capital.

    It said 25 percent of the offer will be allocated to institutional investors, and 45 percent will be reserved for retail investors. The rest will be offered to the strategic investors.

    Institutional investors are required to hold shares for a minimum of three months, while strategic investors are required to hold half of their shares for 12 months and the other half for 18 months, according to the statement.

    Analysts said its IPO for Shanghai Exchange shares will likely raise 20 to 24 billion yuan (3.1 billion U.S. dollars).

    In 2006 its net profits surged 32.7 percent to 12.27 billion yuan and the value of its assets jumped 20.8 percent to 1.71 trillion yuan, the bank said in March. ¡¡(one U.S. dollar equals 7.724 yuan)