Apropos 'Alibaba surges in Wall Street debut' carried by Business Recorder on Saturday, the world seems to have been stunned by the market debut of this company - Alibaba. According to reports, by raising $25.02 billion, Chinese online giant Alibaba broke the record for the largest initial public offering in history, after investment underwriters exercised the option for 48 million extra shares, bringing the total to 368 million.
The previous record was set in 2010 by China's AgBank, which raised $22.1 billion. Everyone is familiar with the story of "Ali Baba and the forty thieves". In the story, Ali Baba is a poor woodcutter who discovers the secret of a thieves' den, entered with the phrase "Open Sesame". The thieves learn this, and try to kill Ali Baba.
According to company's website, Alibaba Group was established in 1999 by 18 people led by Jack Ma, a former English teacher from Hangzhou, China. From the outset, the company's founders shared a belief that the Internet would level the playing field by enabling small enterprises to leverage innovation and technology to grow and compete more effectively in the domestic and global economies. Since launching its first website helping small Chinese exporters, manufacturers and entrepreneurs to sell internationally, Alibaba Group has grown into a global leader in online and mobile commerce. Today the company and its related companies operate leading wholesale and retail online marketplaces as well as Internet-based businesses offering advertising and marketing services, electronic payment, cloud-based computing and network services and mobile solutions, among others. Jack Ma chose the name 'Alibaba' because it is well-known around the world and it can be easily pronounced in many languages.