Alibaba Group Holding Ltd founder Jack Ma's announced its new partnership publicly for the first time on Tuesday. According to Ma, the 28-partner partnership would be able to create company value to its shareholders, employees and customers. In an email sent to Bloomberg News, he said, "(The partnership system) is not a mere profit sharing mechanism, nor is it a vehicle of power to exert greater control over the company."

The biggest e-commerce company in China was said to have asked the Hong Kong bourse to allow new members of the board to be nominated by a partnership. This move would secure Ma and the company management to retain control over Alibaba even after its planned IPO. People familiar with the matter said Alibaba's IPO would be the biggest since Facebook Inc.'s USD16 billion IPO last year. As to where the IPO would be held, the public offer might be held in Hong Kong as New York does not allow new listings to have dual-class shares.

According to analyst estimates in July, the Hangzhou-based e-commerce firm is valued around USD87 billion. Ernst and Young LLP said Alibaba could raise HKD100 billion or USD12.9 billion in its planned IPO.