Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. priced the retail portion of its Hong Kong share sale Friday, issuing an appeal to individual investors in a city in the throes of recession after months of violent pro-democracy protests.
The largest Chinese e-commerce company capped the 12.5 million shares available to individual investors at HK$188 apiece -- an auspicious number in Chinese culture -- making it the most expensive first-time share sale in Hong Kong. Alibaba said it may price the remainder of its 500 million-share offering above that ceiling, signaling that it aims to raise at least $12 billion in what would be one of the world’s largest sales of stock this year. The company will price the rest of its international offering by Nov. 20.
