Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has just made IPO history by debuting on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) with shares opening at US$92.70. It is the largest tech IPO ever.
The company is trading under the ticker BABA.
The stock offering is expected to raise at least US$21.8bn, Fortune reported, adding that underwriters may make use of an overallotment option called a ‘green shoe.’
Green shoe means more shares of the company could be sold, potentially raising more than US$25bn and making Alibaba’s IPO the biggest in history.
Alibaba had priced its shares at US$68 last night, 36pc lower than what they are today.
The Wall Street Journal reported that more than 1,700 investment firms around the world put in orders for Alibaba shares. About half of them received no stock, and many others received less than 5pc of what they asked for.
Alibaba is China’s largest e-commerce website, with 80pc of the country’s market share.
On the Alibaba website, online shoppers are buying anything from agrochemicals to dental supplies, and sellers are flogging everything from yarn to solar cells.
Alibaba image via Shutterstock
