Chinese e-Commerce giant Alibaba could look to make its stock market debut the first week of August, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Securities and Exchange Commission, which regulates the securities markets in the United States, is currently reviewing the company's F-1 filing. Traditionally, the SEC goes line-by-line to make sure companies filing to go public detail their revenue sources and disclose risks appropriately and accurately. It's expected that feedback could come as soon as June 7, after which Alibaba would spend a few weeks correcting or clarifying any issues raised, these people say.
Statistics on Alibaba from the company's F-1 filing
Based on that time frame, sources are eyeing the first week of August for Alibaba's opening trade. Although it would likely happen in the middle of the week, the calendar date of that Friday, Aug. 8 (8/8) is considered lucky. However, August 8 is a Friday, preventing the stock from being traded in the Asian markets.
A spokesperson for Alibaba could not be immediately reached for comment.
Of course, no date is finalized, and market conditions or a longer-than-expected dialogue with the SEC could delay the deal. If the process takes longer than expected, the public offering—expected to be the largest technology IPO ever—would be pushed out to after Labor Day, when investors return from summer vacation and markets have traditionally been calmer.
—By CNBC's Kayla Tausche with CNBC's Drew Sandholm.