China’s leading e-commerce company Alibaba Wednesday refuted rumors that it is hiring Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs in an IPO plan to raise $3 billion to $4 billion, according to Reuters.

"We have not hired any bankers in connection with any IPO," John Spelich, a spokesman for Alibaba Group, said in an email.

Rumors of the group seeking an initial offering on the HK stock exchange started circulating Wednesday following a Bloomberg report which said Alibaba had already hired Credit Suiss and Goldman Sachs to arrange the public offering.

Bloomberg said in an article that the group is likely to raise $3 billion to $4 billion which would make it China’s biggest ever tech IPO.

The report came a day after the group’s founder Jack Ma announced a plan to step down as CEO of the group later this May.

The 39-year-old CEO said in the emotional letter on Tuesday that he as well as most of executives born in 60s are handing the responsibilities to co-workers who were born in the 70s and 80s, “they know the future better than us.”

Peng Lei, CEO of the Alipay, Chief HR Officer, also one of the group’s founders, is most expected to take over the new CEO position from Ma.

Alibaba announced a privatization plan of its B2B unit which was listed on the HK stock exchange in November, 2007. 

The group recently decided to divide into 25 business sectors led by a strategic decision-making committee charged by the board of directors with a strategic management and conduct committee, overseen by the CEO.