With shareholders including Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) and Yahoo Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO), Alibaba joins other high-flying Asian IPOs in 2007. I wrote briefly yesterday about the PetroChina (NYSE: PTR) IPO, which after it saw its value triple, is now the world's first trillion dollar company.
Part of what makes the Alibaba IPO so interesting is the firm's growth prospects. China's largest Web trading site for companies predicts profit will almost triple this year on increased spending in the world's fastest growing major economy.
Hot? Yes. According to Bloomberg data, Alibaba's IPO was the biggest by a Web company after Google Inc.'s (NASDAQ: GOOG) $1.9 billion float in August 2004.
Says Bloomberg, "Clients can advertise or buy products using Alibaba's Web site for free. The company charges suppliers from China and Hong Kong an annual fee to become so-called premium members, which enable them to gain preferential access to buyers."
China was home to 162 million internet users at the end of June, second only to the U.S., according to the government-backed China Network Information Center.
DISCLOSURE: I personally own shares of GOOG.
Zack Miller is the lead equity analyst for America Israel Investment Associates, LLC., the managing editor of IsraelNewsletter.com and a former equity analyst for a leading multinational hedge fund.
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