Alibaba ups IPO to $21.8 bn to meet demand

Alibaba has raised its intial share price from USD$60-66 to USD$66-68 based on strong investor interest, which could bring in as much as USD$21.8 billion through their initial public offering, Bloomberg reported. This puts Alibaba’s IPO in close competition with Agricultural Bank of China’s $22 bn IPO in 2010 for the world’s largest initial offering ever. According to data compiled by Bloomberg, analysts predict Alibaba’s net income to rise by more than 50 percent this fiscal year. The company plans to set a final price for the shares on Sept. 18, with trading to begin the next day.