Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba announced that it has filed a police report against a media institution that allegedly tried to blackmail the company ahead of its multi-billion dollar listing in the United States.

In a statement released to the press, Alibaba said a media outlet, which it did not identify, had asked for US$300,000 in exchange for the holding of a negative report against the company.

Like Us on Facebook

The media outlet allegedly told Alibaba it will push through with the publication of the said negative report if the demand is not met.

Alibaba said it was told by the media outlet that the research report was negative for Alibaba and could affect its initial public offering at the New York Stock Exchange.

Alibaba's US listing is expected to generate billions of dollars, surpassing the IPO of Facebook and other Internet companies.

While Alibaba did not mention the name of the media outlet, sources said the said outlet is China-based considering that the police report was filed in Hangzhou City.

Sources also said the media institution referred to a semi-monthly business magazine based in Guangzhou-based

The Hangzhou City police said it has accepted the case filed by Alibaba against the said media outlet.

Alibaba is currently in a quiet period ahead of its IPO in September.

"We welcome supervision from the media but the company will not tolerate acts that go beyond the legal boundaries," said Jack Ma, Alibaba's founder and chairman.

Early this year, the Chinese government had ordered the shut down of illegal publications and magazines for their involvement in extortion activities.

Alibaba has decided to list on the NYSE under the symbol "BABA", becoming the biggest Chinese firm so far to join a US exchange.

TagsAlibaba IPO, Alibaba US Listing, Alibaba NYSE