Alibaba Founder Says China Remains Focus

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. founder Jack Ma on Monday sought to allay concerns about the company's structure and expansion strategy amid a push to convince investors to buy shares in its potentially $24 billion initial public offering.

At the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York, where Alibaba began meetings with investors ahead of its initial public offering, Mr. Ma spoke about the difficulty of getting China's biggest e-commerce company off the ground, participants said. He and other top executives also addressed the company's focus on growing revenue in China rather than abroad and its relationship with its Alipay affiliate, which processes many of the transactions that are conducted through Alibaba's myriad online marketplaces.

The meeting was the first of 10 days' worth of gatherings that will take two groups of company managers and bankers to several U.S. cities, as well as to Hong Kong, Singapore and London, as they try to find buyers for big parcels of Alibaba shares. The IPO, expected next week, could value Alibaba at about $155 billion according to estimates of its price range. At that market value, Alibaba would instantly become one of the largest companies listed in the U.S. and mark one of the biggest stock-market debuts ever.

The roadshow moves to Boston on Tuesday, where J.P. Morgan Chase JPM -0.03% & Co. Vice Chairman James B. Lee Jr. will introduce the company to the city's big mutual fund investors, people familiar with the event said. Hundreds of investors who scored invitations to Monday's event through their relationships with underwriters gathered in Waldorf's Starlight Roof ballroom to listen to Alibaba and its bankers outline its prospects. A line of attendees snaked through much of the historic hotel's lobby.

Not everyone was impressed with the meeting's format. Akram Yosri, managing partner at investment firm 3i Capital Group, said he found the questions "boilerplate" and felt "there would not be any serious questions asked to management." Still, Mr. Yosri, who left shortly after a question and answer period began, said he found Mr. Ma "quite charismatic" and was pleased with the company's strategy of focusing on small-business owners in China. Whether he ultimately participates in the deal will depend on how it prices, Mr. Yosri said. W. Fifield Whitman, chief investment officer at John Locke Capital Management LP said that he was happy to have a chance to hear from other executives at Alibaba speak and was impressed with their presentation.

"The key to the operating success of the company is the operating board [beyond Mr. Ma]," he said. "People still have a lot of questions about them."

The company showed brief videos about Alibaba and how people in China use it, attendees said after the meeting.

Mr. Ma, the company's charismatic 49-year-old founder and executive chairman, told investors about trying to raise money in Silicon Valley only to be rejected by 30 venture capitalists, investors said. "Now I'm back, asking you for a little more money," Mr. Ma said to the audience, eliciting a big laugh, people who were present said. In an unplanned move, Mr. Ma took questions directly from audience members, those people said. He was asked about how he would spend his time, answering that a top priority would be to maintain relationships with government officials in China and elsewhere, the people said. Mr. Ma also addressed the company's separation of Alipay from the broader Alibaba Group in 2011. The move sparked a conflict with Yahoo Inc., YHOO -0.02% a large shareholder in Alibaba, and has elicited some criticism from investors. Mr. Ma said it was one of the toughest calls he has had to make, but he said he believed it was the best move for the company in the long-term

Other company executives also took questions from investors in attendance at the New York event, which was moderated by Credit Suisse Group AG CSGN.VX -0.12% global head of Internet banking Imran Khan. In response to questions about international expansion, executives said Alibaba is still largely focused on China, where just half of people use the Internet, and only half of users shop online, people familiar with the discussion said.