An initial public offer in Hong Kong may be sought by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd after it had recently closed a general syndicate loan worth US$8 billion. According to three sources familiar with the matter, thirteen different financial institutions are joining in the IPO.

The lenders that joined the syndication are Ping An Bank Co., Societe Generale SA, ING Bank NV, BNP Paribas SA, Bank of Taiwan and the Bank of China Ltd. The sources asked to remain anonymous, as the discussions remain private.

Alibaba was first formed in 1999 as an online marketplace for Chinese companies. From its humble beginnings, the site has grown alongside the economic liberalization policies instituted had fueled the growth of manufacturing and trade in China. Now, it has an employee workforce of more than 24,000 and has expanded its portfolio services such as cloud computing, online payments and auctions. 

It is projected that Alibaba's IPO would be able to raise HK$100 billion or US$12.9 billion, according to estimates from Ernst and Young LLP.

The plan of the largest e-commerce company in China is to issue three year and five year financing to introduce a smartphone operating system as well as investing in China's version of Twitter.