Bank of Jiangsu, a Chinese commercial bank, will soon launch an initial public offering worth up to 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion), the 21st Century Business Herald reported on Thursday, citing an unidentified source close to the deal.

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Bank of Jiangsu, which submitted its IPO application to the China Securities Regulatory Commission in the third quarter of last year, will soon enter the so-called "quiet period," the article said.

The quiet period refers to two time windows immediately before and after an IPO during which issuers, company insiders, analysts and other parties are legally banned from discussing or promoting the share sale.

Bank of Jiangsu was set up in December 2006 as the result of a merger of 10 city commercial banks in China's eastern Jiangsu province, the newspaper said.

Many other Chinese city commercial banks, such as Bank of Shanghai and Bank of Chongqing, are also preparing for listings.