Alibaba: Everything You Need to Know

Beijing: Chinese Internet retail giant Alibaba made its historic Wall Street trading debut Friday, breaking the record for the largest-ever initial public offering by raising $25 billion. (Read: With Alibaba's Big Debut, 10 Things to Know). The following is a fact-file about the e-commerce titan, founded by Chinese entrepreneur Jack Ma, who was in New York for the stock launch.. Founding: Alibaba Group was founded in 1999 by 18 people led by Ma. (Also Read: Alibaba's Jack Ma Rides 'Forrest Gump' Story to Riches). Why Alibaba?: Ma chose the name because it is "easily pronounced in practically all languages" and because the "open sesame" catchphrase from 1,001 Nights signifies that the company's platforms "open a doorway to fortune for small businesses", the company's website says.. Size: A total of 20,000 people are employed by Alibaba, which has its headquarters in Hangzhou, Ma's hometown in China's eastern province of Zhejiang. The company has 73 offices in mainland China and 16 overseas. (Alibaba: China's Giant Online Shopping 'Crocodile'). Components: Taobao.com, China's most popular online consumer marketplace, and TMall.com, a website for business-to-consumer transactions, are among several online platforms which operate within the Alibaba structure. Raising its profile internationally is US shopping website 11 Main, launched in June. It also has a payment unit, Alipay, which is not included within the IPO vehicle.. Customers: Taobao has more than 800 million product listings and over 500 million registered users. It is estimated to have more than 90 percent of China's online consumer-to-consumer market.. The market: China's online shoppers spent nearly 1.26 trillion yuan ($200 billion) in 2012, up 66.5 percent from the previous year, the semi-official China Internet Network Information Centre said in an April 2013 report. 11 Main potentially opens the door to a wider global audience.. Acquisitions: Alibaba went on a deal-making frenzy ahead of its share offer in the United States. Its purchase of Chinese mobile browser developer UCWeb for an undisclosed sum in June came after it paid $192 million for a 50 percent stake in top Chinese football club Evergrande earlier that month.. In May, it paid $249 million for a stake in Singapore postal service Singapore Post to boost its logistics and delivery operations.. It has also made forays into entertainment, paying $1.22 billion for a stake in top Chinese online video platform Youku Tudou in April and acquiring Hong Kong-listed ChinaVision Media Group in March.. Potential: China has the world's biggest online population and its annual online sales are forecast to reach between $420 billion and $650 billion by 2020. By then it will be the world's largest online retail market, consulting firm McKinsey estimates.

Alibaba: Everything You Need to Know

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