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Alibaba soars 137 pct on HK debut

http://www.alibaba.com

* Story Highlights
* NEW: Alibaba soars 137 percent to $4.12 in Hong Kong market debut
* Alibaba.comraised more than $1.5B through global offering of 858.9M shares
* Public portion of offering 257 times oversubscribed

HONG KONG, China (AP) -- Chinese e-commerce portal Alibaba.com made a strong debut on the Hong Kong stock market Tuesday, with its shares soaring 137 percent to 32 Hong Kong dollars ($4.12) within minutes of its listing.

Demand has been heavy for the business-to-business Web site, which raised more than $1.5 billion through its global offering of 858.9 million shares, or a 17 percent stake of the company.

The public portion of its offering was 257 times oversubscribed.

Some analysts had cautioned that the stock was overpriced at its issue price of HK$13.5, but investors have been keen to tap into the booming Chinese technology market.

Alibaba.com said its share sale was the biggest technology IPO since Google.

"The pent up demand is certainly there," Rick Munarriz, who researches media and technology companies for The Motley Fool, told The Associated Press in an e-mail.

"It would be hard to justify a triple or a quadruple (jump) at this point, but just the fact that you had $100 billion in orders chasing $1.5 billion in stock bodes well for the debut."

By midmorning in Hong Kong, Alibaba.com's shares had retreated to HK$29.95.

"I want to turn the company into a leading e-commerce platform for China, Asia and even the world," Jack Ma, founder of parent company Alibaba Group, said at a forum in Taipei.

Ma disputed that China's business climate makes it difficult for e-commerce to grow.

"People think that there is no mutual trust in China and the Chinese government imposes too many restrictions," Ma said. "Yet only when you work harder than others under rough conditions do you have a chance to succeed."

Ma attributed Alibaba Group's success to good teamwork and clear focus.

"I have seen many who are more clever and hardworking than (my team and me)," Ma said. But "we have a loyal team which has stayed on the same course and not wavered."