Alibaba raises price of share sale as demand increases

Founder Jack Ma said he planned to expand Alibaba in the US and Europe

Chinese online giant Alibaba has increased the price range of its initial public offering (IPO), meaning it could raise more than $25bn (£15bn) when it lists in New York.

The firm said in an official filing that it expected to price its shares at between $66 and $68 a share, up from its earlier price range of $60 to $66 a share.

The increase suggests demand for the firm's shares are high.

Its listing is expected this week.

Alibaba would have a market value of up to $168bn based on the new price range, making it larger than Amazon.

Alibaba plans to use the proceeds from the listing to expand in the US and Europe, founder Jack Ma said on Monday.

Record listing

Alibaba's flotation was already expected to be the largest listing in the US, overtaking the Agricultural Bank of China's 2010 flotation which raised $22.1bn.

Alibaba accounts for 80% of all online retail sales in China. Its sites also include Taobao, Tmall, and AliExpress.

The company is selling 123.1 million of the 320.1 million shares in the IPO.

Meanwhile, selling shareholders, including founder Jack Ma, Yahoo and executive vice chairman Joe Tsai, are offering the rest.

Rising internet usage in China and a growing and affluent middle-class helped the firm make a profit of almost $2bn in the three months to the end of June, with sales up by 46% year-on-year to $2.54bn.