Alibaba will reportedly end its $13 billion share sale early after attracting more investor demand than it could meet

• Alibaba's $13 billion Hong Kong share sale will reportedly be closed early amid strong demand from investors.
• The company plans to stop taking orders from institutional investors at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday rather than 4:00 p.m., according to The Wall Street Journal.
• The sale is already several times subscribed, the WSJ reported. That means investors are placing multiple times more share orders than Alibaba is currently offering.
• Watch Alibaba trade live on Markets Insider.

Alibaba's $13 billion Hong Kong stock offering will reportedly end early as investor demand outstrips available shares.

The company plans to close the sale to institutional investors at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday rather than the initially planned time of 4:00 p.m., according to The Wall Street Journal.

The offering is already several times subscribed, the WSJ reported, meaning investors are placing multiple times more share orders than Alibaba is currently offering.

Alibaba said in a press release on November 15 that it planned to set the price for its Hong Kong offering by November 20 partly based on the closing price of its American depositary shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Shares of Alibaba traded around $184.44 a piece on Tuesday, bringing the company's market capitalization to about $482.4 billion.

The company's secondary listing in Hong Kong is expected to be one of the largest shares sales in the world this year, surpassing Uber's $8.1 billion initial public offering in May. It is scheduled for November 26, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Ongoing violent protests throughout Hong Kong have continued to cast doubt over the city's economy and role as a financial hub. Alibaba reportedly postponed its Hong Kong offering in late August due to the uncertainty around the protests.

Alibaba did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this story.