Is the party over for Alibaba? E-commerce king fetes first anniversary of record-breaking IPO in US but faces uncertain future
Chinese e-commerce powerhouse Alibaba Group on Saturday marked the first anniversary of its historic US$25 billion initial public offering, the world’s largest-ever IPO, with a number of questions looming about its future.
A year ago, New York-traded Alibaba was the toast of the town as its listing in the United States brought a huge windfall to co-founder Jack Ma Yun and the company’s senior management, major shareholders like Japan’s SoftBank and online giant Yahoo, and a global investment community that had bet on the continued fast-paced development of China’s internet industry.
No internet company can be a champion for five continuous years. It’s a tough business
In a commentary at the time, China's state-run news agency Xinhua said the emergence of Alibaba reflected the “rising power of Chinese business on the world stage”.
The party is over for Alibaba as bludgeoned investors have expressed concerns about its direction amid the company’s lowered sales estimates due to weakening demand in its home market, the slowest revenue growth in three years during the quarter ended June 30, and stock that has fallen below its listing price of US$68.
Alibaba’s share price reached a record high US$119.15 on November 10.