The company generating the latest IPO buzz isn’t based in Silicon Valley, but in Hangzhou, a city in China most folks probably have never heard of. Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba will start trading on the New York Stock Exchange Sept. 18, and could end up being the world's largest initial public offering with the potential of generating over $25 billion for the company. Due to demand, the company has recently risen the price of a share to between $66 to $68.
E-commerce sites under Alibaba currently accounts for 90 percent of online sales in China, according to Bloomberg Businessweek. While the company has a captive audience at home, founder Jack Ma has said he wants to expand the company agressively in the US and Europe.
What is the growth potential of Alibaba overseas?
Guests:
Praveen Menon, senior analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence
Joel Backaler, director at Frontier Strategy Group, which provides market intelligence for businesses. He’s the author of China Goes West: Everything You Need to Know About Chinese Companies Going Global (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014)