JD.COM, China’s second-largest e-commerce company behind Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., said Friday it expected to price its initial public offering (IPO) of American depositary shares at US$16-US$18 each, valuing the firm at up to US$24.6 billion.

    The company said the sale of 93.7 million American depositary shares was expected to raise about US$1.69 billion at the top end of the price range.

    JD.com is offering 69 million American depositary shares in the offering, while the rest is being offered by selling stockholders.

    Earlier last week, Alibaba gave investors a closer look at the scale and growth of the Chinese e-commerce juggernaut in an IPO prospectus, the first step in what could be the largest technology debut in history.

    JD.com and other Web-based retailers operate in the sizeable shadow of Alibaba, which controls nearly 80 percent of China’s Internet shopping market.

    JD.com, earlier known as 360Buy, has raised US$2.23 billion in the past six years from investors including the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s Kingdom Holding Co.

    The firm counts hedge fund Tiger Global Management and DST Global funds among others among its top stakeholders.

    JD.com, like a number of other Chinese companies listing in the United States, relies on a little-tested legal structure called “variable interest entity” that gives an investor economic interest, but no ownership.

    The firm, which first filed for an IPO in January, plans to list its American depositary shares on the NASDAQ.

    While Alibaba runs online marketplaces where numerous merchants sell their goods to consumers or business customers, JD’s business model is more similar to that of Amazon.com Inc. in that it is a direct seller of goods held in sprawling warehouses through its websites. (SD-Agencies)