BEIJING - People's Daily Online Co Ltd, the website of the flagship newspaper of the Communist Party of China (CPC), aims to raise 527 million yuan ($83.7 million) for its initial public offering (IPO).

It plans to sell 69.1 million A-shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, and launch a roadshow for the IPO on Friday. The subscription will run from April 17 to 18, according to its prospectus posted on the website of the bourse.

The major source of the company's profits comes from advertisements, as well as information and wireless services.

The company said it plans to use 289 million yuan out of the IPO proceeds to improve its wireless services, 146 million yuan to upgrade technology platform, and 92 million yuan to bolster editorial team.

By June 30, 2011, total assets of the company have totaled 868 million yuan. Last year, its profits surged 74 percent year-on-year to 138 million yuan. Sales revenue jumped 50 percent to 497 million yuan.

The company submitted its IPO application to the China Securities regulatory Commission on January 9 and got the approval four days later.

People's Daily Online's IPO comes as China's State-owned portals are trying to go public to restructure themselves to better compete with commercial website such as Sina.com and Sohu.com.