ALIBABA Group Holding Ltd. has received enough orders for its record-breaking initial public offering (IPO) to cover the entire deal within just two days of its launch, people familiar with the IPO process said yesterday.

    There was no indication as to where most of that demand was in the US$60-US$66 per share indicative range for the IPO, said the sources, who couldn’t be named because details of the offering demand aren’t yet public.

    Alibaba, a Chinese e-commerce titan, declined to comment when contacted.

    At the top end of expectations, the Alibaba IPO would raise US$21.1 billion, topping Facebook Inc.’s US$16 billion listing in 2012 as the largest-ever technology IPO.

    Alibaba could set a new record for the world’s biggest IPO if underwriters exercise an option to sell additional shares to meet demand, putting it as high as US$24.3 billion, and overtaking Agricultural Bank of China Ltd.’s US$22.1 billion listing in 2010.

    The company launched its IPO Monday and is expected to price the deal Sept. 18.

    Co-founder and executive chairman Jack Ma has spoken with investors in New York and Boston so far this week, presenting the company’s growth strategies and addressing concerns over its corporate governance.

    Alibaba has kept tight control over the IPO, leaving a vacuum at the helm of the group of banks managing the offering, a move that has led to a complicated arrangement and left some bankers complaining it has created additional layers of work, according to people familiar with the situation.

    Alibaba accounts for about 80 percent of all online retail sales in China, where rising Internet usage and an expanding middle class helped the company generate gross merchandise volume of US$296 billion in the 12 months that ended June 30.

    Revenue in the June quarter increased 46 percent to US$2.54 billion from a year earlier, faster than the 38.7 percent growth in the previous quarter.

    But the company has seen its share of controversy, in particular over governance and the outsized influence of its founder and senior managers. Ma holds deep sway over executive and board appointments at the company, an influence that is set to strengthen further after it goes public. (SD-Agencies)