Ma touts tower of 'BABA' in HK

E-commerce giant may lift top price for the long-anticipated public offering

Jack Ma, founder and executive chairman of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, made an unscheduled appearance at the company's roadshow in Hong Kong on Monday, although there was little need to woo the big Hong Kong investors that have allocated huge sums to subscribe to the e-commerce company's initial public offering.

Bankers and fund managers crammed the ornate Diamond Hall of The Ritz-Carlton hotel to hear Ma tell them how he loved Hong Kong. Alibaba's original IPO plan was to list in Hong Kong, but the issue was rejected by the stock exchange over its corporate structure. Instead, the company turned to the New York Stock Exchange.