Facebook on Thursday set the price for its highly-anticipated initial public offering (IPO) at 38 dollars per share, the high end of its expected range of 34 dollars to 38 dollars per share.

The price came one day before Facebook begins to trade on the Nasdaq stock exchange on Friday under the symbol "FB".

At the price of 38 dollars a share, the world's No.1 social network company will sell 421 million shares, raising about 16 billion dollars, the largest ever among all internet companies.

The price will also give the 8-year-old startup a valuation of 104 billion dollars, the biggest of all time.

If a greenshoe option for underwriters is exercised, which means a 30-day window for banks to sell additional 63 million shares, Facebook could raise north of 18.4 billion dollars.

In the last two days, Facebook has filed two documents to the Securities and Exchange Commission to raise the price range of its upcoming IPO and the amount of shares it will sell, underlining the strong demand among investors to own a piece of the hot red stock.