CHINESE e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. said yesterday it has decided to begin the process for an initial public offering (IPO) in the United States, ending months of speculation about where the firm would go public.

    Alibaba’s planned U.S. listing is the most anticipated IPO since Facebook Inc. raised US$16 billion in 2012. Alibaba’s decision to go to the United States is a blow to the Hong Kong stock exchange, which was initially the company’s preferred venue for the IPO.

    Analysts estimate the Hangzhou, China-based company has a value of at least US$140 billion, and the IPO proceeds could exceed US$15 billion, a debut that would make Alibaba’s the biggest U.S. IPO ever of a Chinese company. It would top the dual New York-Hong Kong US$5.7 billion listing of China Unicom Ltd. in 2000, according to Dealogic. Internet search company Baidu Inc. raised just US$124 million in a 2005 IPO, though it now has a stock market value of US$56 billion.

    Alibaba also said in a statement on its corporate news Web site that in the future, it might also consider listing its shares in China, though it didn’t mention any specific plans.

    Alibaba, which controls about 80 percent of China’s e-commerce, had been in discussions with the Hong Kong stock exchange and the Securities and Futures Commission since last year about a listing, but Hong Kong’s regulators blocked its proposal as it violated the “one-share-one-vote principle.”

    Alibaba’s corporate structure allows a group of top partners to nominate and control the board, which is at odds with Hong Kong’s stock exchange’s listing rules.

    Alibaba’s executive vice chairman Joe Tsai upped the rhetoric against Hong Kong when he said last week that the firm would not change its partnership structure in order to list on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

    After an initial rebuff, Alibaba and the Hong Kong regulators were back at the negotiating table late last year, to find a solution to the problem. While Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd. has initiated a review of its listing rules to accommodate more flexible structures, any change to the existing rules would take months.

    Alibaba does not want to miss the technology boom, which has boosted valuations of Internet companies both in the United States and in Hong Kong. Alibaba’s planned IPO would be the highest-profile Internet listing since Facebook’s US$16 billion deal in 2012.

    “We wish to thank those in Hong Kong who have supported Alibaba Group,” Alibaba said in its statement.

    “We respect the viewpoints and policies of Hong Kong and will continue to pay close attention to and support the process of innovation and development of Hong Kong.”

    The listing also is closely watched by Alibaba’s two largest shareholders — Yahoo Inc., which owns 24 percent, and Japan’s Softbank Corp., which controls 37 percent. Alibaba’s founders and some senior managers jointly own about 13 percent of the company.

    Credit Suisse Group AG, Deutsche Bank AG, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JP Morgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley will play major banker roles in the upcoming IPO, a source familiar with the situation said. Citigroup will also play a part, but it will be a less senior role than the other banks, the source said.

    The source added that Alibaba hasn’t yet set the exact date for its IPO filing. It also hasn’t yet decided whether to list on the New York Stock Exchange or the NASDAQ Stock Market.

    Alibaba’s financial affiliates that are not part of Alibaba Group, such as its Alipay electronic payment service and Yu’E Bao money market fund, will not be included in the IPO, the source said. (SD-Agencies)