The e-commerce giant from China, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) has finalized the details on its initial public offering. The Chinese company has planned to sell around $22 billion of shares on Thursday, drawing a close to a road show that caused a frenzy among investors all over the world over the course of the past two weeks. Alibaba’s initial public offering could be the biggest initial public offering in the entire world.

The company’s shares are scheduled to be priced right after the markets closed at 4pm today, and begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange tomorrow on Friday under the stock ticket “BABA.”

Investors who cannot wait to buy into the rapid growth coming from China and the ever-developing Internet space, have been trying to obtain shares of Alibaba since the head executives of the company, including the company’s executive chairman and co-founder Jack Ma, began the Alibaba road show last week.

The Chinese e-commerce company has a record of handling more transactions online than combined transactions of both Amazon Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) and eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY). Due to the incredible high demand, Alibaba increased its initial public offering price range to be between $66 and $68 per share.

If the company’s shares sell at the high end of that price range, the initial public offering would raise just under $22 billion for the Chinese e-commerce company. However, if underwriters take advantage of the opportunity to sell more shares, then Alibaba’s debut on the market will break records for the Agricultural Bank of China, who’s current highest initial public offering sale stands at $22.1 billion in 2010.

According to Neil Doshi, an analyst at CRT Capital, the current pricing range of $66 to $68 that Alibaba set for itself substantially undervalues the growth potential of the company in the long term. This statement was made in a research note that initiated the company’s coverage of the stock with a rating of Buy.

Since Mr. Ma founded the company in his one bedroom apartment fifteen years ago, Alibaba has risen to power by conducting four-fifths of its operations in China, which is the second largest economy in the world. The company has also expanded into other sectors of the market, including financial investment and e-payments.

The company also operates on a complex governance structure, and technicalities arising from these issues about conflicts of interest have been raised about Mr. Ma’s external investments. Criticism has also been directed at the ability for investors to persuade Alibaba’s business strategy.

Alibaba chose to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange because officials from the Hong Kong stock exchange disapproved of the company’s request to let a small group of insiders in the company to nominate most of the members of the board. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd manages the oeprations of the exchange, and follows a strict policy that does not allow companies to have multiple classes of shares with different voting rights. However, the Honkong Exchanges and Clearing is now discussing the loosening of those regulations.

The initial public offering caps a lengthy listing process where Alibaba did not appoint a single bank to manage and take charge of the initial public offering process. Instead, the company went to all its major bookrunners for their advice, and delegated the tasks among them.

The e-commerce company has plans to grow its business in the United States and Europe after its initial public offering. However, Alibaba is pretty much a nobody in the United States, and it certainly entering the market as an underdog. According to a recent poll by Ipsos, about 88 percent of American had not heard of the company.

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