Alibaba Group plans to sell up to $8-billion bonds in show of strength

Alibaba Group Holding is looking to raise as much as $8 billion selling dollar bonds as early as next week, giving global investors a chance to bet on the Chinese e-commerce giant’s long-term prospects at a time when the company and its co-founder face intense government pressure back home.

The company aims to raise at least $5 billion but could wind up with more depending on the reception, according to people familiar with the matter who aren’t authorised to speak publicly and asked not to be identified. The deal will be a multi-tranche offering, with specific tenors yet to be determined,