China's e-commerce giant Alibaba officially filed plans Tuesday for an IPO on the US market, in what is expected to be the biggest tech stock sale ever. Analysts have estimated that the company could be worth 1.25 trillion yuan ($200bn), more than Amazon, eBay or Facebook.
In its filing, the company said it seeks to raise 6.2 billion yuan ($1bn) from the listing, although this figure is expected to soar to around 93 billion yuan ($15bn) in the months leading up to the sale, as investors' appetites increase, BBC said.
Founded by Jack Ma in 1999 with $60,000 in seed money, Alibaba has risen to become the leader in e-commerce in China. The group has also acquired businesses in various fields, such as eBay-style Taobao and the hugely popular microblog Weibo, after they bought an 18% stake in the company from Sina in 2013.
Business site Quartz made a chart comparing Alibaba's subsidiaries with foreign tech giants to give an insight into just how widespread the company's dealings are.
Many have speculated that the foray into the US market could be an attempt by Alibaba to strengthen its social media and smartphone efforts. Tencent still corners much of the Chinese market with its mobile messaging app WeChat, which had a reported 600 million users in October 2013. The rivals have been locked in a battle over smartphone use, with Alibaba claiming it is responsible for 72 percent of mobile commerce in the country.
Venturing into the US market is crucial if the company wants to enjoy this kind of success on foreign markets. "If it is able to transport that kind of power to outside China, it has the potential to become a true global e-commerce powerhouse," said Recon Analytics founder Roger Entner.
Alibaba has not disclosed the number of shares it plans to sell, nor announced a date for the offering. It also did not reveal whether the IPO will be listed on the NASDAQ or the NYSE.
[Image: Alibaba founder Jack Ma]
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