The Chinese e-commerce giant, Alibaba announced plans to float on the New York Stock Exchange later this year in what could be one of the largest tech IPO’s in US history. The IPO is expected to raise $15 billion and a recent Reuters report estimates that Alibaba could reach a valuation of $140 billion. Ali Baba has over 500 million customers and is the Chinese equivalent of Amazon, Ebay and paypal combined.
Alibaba announced that it was listing in New York rather than Hong Kong to make it a more global company and enhance its transparency. The IPO offers an exciting prospect for investors.