Alibaba Shares Prices have been priced at $68 (£42)

Shares in Alibaba have been priced at $68 (£42), the top end of the range, in a sign of strong investor appetite for the Chinese e-commerce giant.

With trading starting on the New York Stock Exchange later on Friday Sep 19,2014, the share sale will raise $21.8bn, making it one of the largest flotations ever.

It values Alibaba, which accounts for 80% of all online retail sales in China, at $167.6bn.


Alibaba operates a series of online marketplaces in China and elsewhere, handling more transactions than Amazon and eBay combined.

 
The company was formed 15 years ago by former teacher Jack Ma, who wants to use some of the proceeds to expand in the US and other markets.

 Alibaba has about 279 million active buyers visiting its sites at least once a month

Alibaba Group owns or has stakes in several businesses, including:

• Alibaba.com - the company's first business, a website that allows companies around the world to find a manufacturer in China
• Taobao - China's largest shopping website
• Tmall - offers a wide selection of branded goods to China's emerging middle class
• Alipay - an online payment system that operates like Paypal
• Sina Weibo - China's version of Twitter
• Youku Tudou - China's biggest video site, similar to YouTube
• Cainiao - a logistics operation that provides real-time access to information for buyers and sellers
• Alibaba Pictures - a film production company
• Guangzhou Evergrande - China's most successful football club,