Qiangdong Liu, CEO of JD.com, raises his arms to celebrate the IPO for his company at the Nasdaq MarketSite, May 22, 2014 in New York. [Photo/IC]

Shares of JD.com, China's second-largest e-commerce company after Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, rose as much as 17.2 percent in their market debut on Thursday, valuing the company at about $30.43 billion.

JD.com's debut - the biggest listing of a Chinese company on a US exchange - is being closely watched for clues on how Wall Street will greet Alibaba's IPO later this year.

Alibaba's IPO is expected to be the biggest by a tech company in history.

JD.com's offering of American Depositary Shares raised $1.78 billion after being priced at $19 each, above the expected range of $16 to $18.

The company's shares touched a high of $22.26 after opening at $21.75 on the Nasdaq.

JD.com, which has yet to make a profit, is backed by Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal's Kingdom Holding Co.

BofA Merrill Lynch and UBS Investment Bank were the lead underwriters of the offering.

JD.com prices IPO above expectations	Top 10 Chinese Internet firms eyeing IPOs in US