Alibaba.com kicked off the road show of its IPO yesterday. Its indicative IPO prices ranged from 10 to 12 Hong Kong dollars. Based on such calculations, Alibaba's IPO will raise 10.31 billion Hong Kong dollars, beating the expected 7.8 billion Hong Kong dollars and making it the largest IPO by a Chinese Internet company.

In 2003, Google was listed on the NASDAQ, raising 1.67 US dollars (about 13.026 Hong Kong dollars). Alibaba will hopefully become the world second largest Internet IPO. It will also become the largest in Hong Kong, replacing the record set by Tencent（0700.HK), which raised 1.55 billion Hong Kong dollars. 

There were strong demands for the shares of Alibaba.com. Following Yahoo.com and Guo Taiming of Honhai Precision Industry, it acquired another five new investors: Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Wharf president Wu Guangzheng, Guo Henian of Kerry Group Limited, families of Sun Hung Kai Properties, and American International Group, Inc. (AIG) .

Chairman of Mengniu Group Niu Gensheng and Secretary of the Bo'ao Forum for Asia Long Yongtu will act as the independent directors of Alibaba.com.

For more details, please read the full story in Chinese (http://www.dfdaily.com/node2/node27/node120/userobject1ai33236.shtml).

(China.org.cn October 16, 2007)