THE Agricultural Bank of China is likely to pay a total of US$248 million in fees to the firms handling its US$19.3 billion initial public offering, the lowest underwriting payout by any of China's big four banks.

Sources involved in the process said 1.4 percent, or US$147 million, of the US$10.5 billion in proceeds from the Hong Kong offering would go to underwriters. That total excludes the over-allotment that is part of the offering.

AgBank publicly announced that it was paying the banks involved with its Shanghai listing a total of 688 million yuan (US$101 million) in fees - a 1.15 percent charge.

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, which raised a record US$21.9 billion in its 2006 dual listing paid a 2 percent fee for its Hong Kong offering, sources involved with that deal said.

Hong Kong IPOs usually come with a 3.5 percent fee.

If AgBank exercises its over-allotment shares, it will raise more than US$22 billion through the IPO, the world's largest ever.

The Beijing-based bank's shares will start trading in Shanghai today and in Hong Kong tomorrow.