Alibaba obtains approval from NYSE, NASDAQ

Alibaba Group, China's largest e-commerce company, said Sunday that its partnership structure has been accepted by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and NASDAQ Stock Exchange, which paves the way for the e-commerce giant's initial public offering (IPO) in the US in what would be one of the world's biggest technology IPOs.

"The New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ have confirmed in letters that Alibaba's partnership structure including its nomination to the board is fully compliant with the listing rules," a PR staff from the Alibaba Group told the Global Times on Sunday.

This eases the major concern of the Chinese e-commerce group which recently turned away from listing on Hong Kong's stock exchange. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing reportedly declined to grant approval to Alibaba over its proposed shareholder structure.

The top e-commerce group asked the Hong Kong stock exchange to allow a partnership structure which will enable Alibaba's 28 partners including Jack Ma, the founder, to nominate a majority of board members, a move the company claimed will allow it to have the power to steer the company's future and keep its vision intact even after the company goes public.

Critics said that such a partnership structure would grant too much power to Ma and other senior executives who only hold about 10 percent of the company and does not respect shareholder rights.

Alibaba Group's planned IPO is estimated to raise between $15 billion and $25 billion,which would make it the world's largest IPO after Facebook's offering which raised $16 billion in May 2012.