JD.com surges in IPO, bodes well for Alibaba

China' s leading online direct sales company JD.com, Inc. debuted on the Nasdaq with a splash Thursday and recorded the largest initial public offering (IPO) by a Chinese company in the United States.

The company sold 93.685 million American depositary shares (ADS, which represent two of the company's Class A shares each) at 19 dollars apiece, above the expected 16 dollars to 18 dollars range in a deal where demand wildly outstripped supply, making a total of 1.78 billion dollars.

What appeared to be a strong debut bodes well for Alibaba, the dominant Chinese e-commerce powerhouse, which is also set to go public, analysts say. The company filed IPO papers two weeks ago.

"The JD.com IPO is somewhat of a preview for Alibaba, though Alibaba appears to be more respected and powerful within the Chinese e-commerce market," said Wedbush analyst Gil Luria.

"I believe the JD.Com valuation at the end of the day will be a proxy for the minimal valuation for Alibaba when it goes public," he added. "Safe to say that a successful JD.com IPO would indicate a positive sentiment towards Chinese e-commerce which would be good news for Alibaba."

Jumei International Holding Limited, China's online retailer of beauty products, made its IPO debut on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Friday and raised 245.1 million dollars.

Earlier this year, China's IT education provider Tarena International, privately held medical services provider iKang Healthcare Group, micro-blogging site Weibo, online-to-offline real estate services firm Leju and online leisure travel company Tuniu, as well as Cheetah mobile, had listed shares in the U.S. market.