The company said the offer price would range between 12 and 13.5 Hong Kong dollars per share, which is higher than analysts had forecast. Trading in the shares in Hong Kong begins November 6.
Alibaba Group chairman Jack Ma said the company aimed to build "a world-class infrastructure and robust ecosystem for e-commerce, which will contribute to the sustained growth of the Chinese economy."
Even at the lower price, the much-hyped listing would give the company, which was only founded in 1999 in Ma's apartment, a value of more than 90 times this year's forecast earnings.
The company added it had already garnered support for its listing from eight major institutional investors, including Yahoo!, AIG Global Investment Corporation, component manufacturer Foxconn, Chinese bank ICBC and technology giant Cisco.
It also said the offer actually could raise more cash -- up to 13.1 billion dollars if international investors take up the offer to buy extra shares.
The proceeds from the offering will be used to grow the existing businesses both in China and internationally and for strategic acquisitions, as well as improving its technology, it said.
David Wei, chief executive officer of Alibaba.com said the listing was an "important milestone" for the company as it tries to take advantage of China's huge internal market and international desire for cheap Chinese products.
Alibaba.com -- part of the Alibaba Group which also includes Yahoo!'s China operation and Taobao.com, China's biggest online auction site -- offers two websites, one for Chinese customers and one for international customers in English. None of the parent group's other operations is included in the initial public offering.
Its spectacular growth has been based on providing a way for small and medium-sized, mainly Chinese, firms to promote their products to a wider audience, as well as helping buyers find new products.
Hungry investors are basing their enthusiasm on projected growth that will see the number of Chinese businesses using such online markets grow from around 8.8 million in 2006 to 41 million in 2012, the company said citing an iResearch study.
Its recorded growth has already been impressive.
In 2002 it had revenue of 359.4 million yuan (47.9 million US) which increased to 1.36 billion yuan in 2006, a rise of 379 percent. The first six months of this year saw an increase of 61 percent in revenue compared to the same period in 2006.
Alibaba.com now has more than 4,400 full-time employees. It has 24.6 million registered members for its Chinese and international sites, the company added.
But the high price has brought warnings that the company is overvalued. Francis Lun, general manager at Fulbright Securities, said the figures were "sky-high."
"They are trying to grab the money and run," Lun added.
Google raised around 1.66 billion dollars when it listed in 2004. Its shares were offered at 85 US dollars on the Nasdaq stock exchange. Earlier this month the shares broke through the 600 dollar barrier for the first time.
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