People.com.cn, the website of the People's Daily newspaper, has announced plans to raise up to 527 million yuan ($83.42 million) through an initial public offering (IPO) that would create a new publicly listed news portal in China.

In a prospectus filed to the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), People's Daily Online Co Ltd said it aims to raise capital by selling 69.1 million new shares on the Shanghai Securities Exchange, accounting for a quarter of its total capitalization after the debut.

The CSRC said it will review the application on January 13.

The website is controlled by the People's Daily, which holds 79.54 percent of its shares. Other owners include China Mobile Ltd, China Unicom Ltd and China Telecom Corp, according to the prospectus.

The company's profits surged 260.54 percent in 2010 from a year earlier to reach 81.6 million yuan. Its business revenue mainly comes from online advertising, which accounted for 50.79 percent of company's total revenue in 2010, the prospectus said.

The portal plans to use the capital raised from the IPO to make technological upgrades and expand its mobile Internet services.