Would-be investors in Alibaba’s initial public offering convened at a midtown Manhattan hotel as the roadshow for the much-anticipated deal got under way on Monday.

A line of prospective buyers interested in hearing the Chinese ecommerce company’s pitch wound through the lobby of the Waldorf Astoria hotel on Park Avenue, as investors and analysts waited to gain entry to the lunchtime presentation. Interest was so high, some people were turned away.

Alibaba has set a price range of $60 to $66 for its shares, putting the size of the offering at up to $21.1bn. That would establish the company as the largest technology or Internet-related IPO. Depending on investor demand and the company’s ability to potentially raise the price, it could yet clinch the title of largest ever IPO, topping Agricultural Bank of China’s $22.1bn IPO in July 2010. At the high end of the price range, Alibaba would have a market valuation of more than $160bn.