Stock in the Chinese e-marketplace opened at $92.70, valuing Alibaba at 14% bigger than Facebook and as the second-biggest firm on the FTSE 100 behind Royal Dutch Shell. It was the biggest flotation in US history at almost $22bn but underwriters exercised an option to buy up more shares to meet the demand frenzy meaning the sale would raise $25bn - more than the $22.1bn by China's AgBank in 2010.
Many investors received fewer shares than they had hoped for and were said to be lining up orders for millions of shares ahead of opening though a bulk were set to be disappointed.
NYSE, anxious to avoid a repeat of the glitches which marred Facebook's IPO on the rival Nasdaq exchange in 2012, said extensive testing of its systems had identified no problems ahead of the trading session. A delay in declaring the opening price was blamed purely on the demand issue. The NYSE's opening bell was rung at 2:30pm BST as Alibaba customers, brought in to launch the trading day, clapped and smiled.
The company's founder and executive chairman Jack Ma, who started the company in a one-bedroom apartment, was on hand to witness the event and looked on proudly as the opening price indications rose. He has shares that stand to be worth up to $14bn though one of the biggest winners will be Yahoo!
INC News, 20/09/2014
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