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Alibaba is China's answer to Amazon, eBay and PayPal and it's heading for the biggest stock offering in US history

Jack Ma, the richest man in China, is poised to take his company public in the U.S. It is predicted to be the biggest IPO in history, with the potential to dramatically shift the power centre of global commerce. Today, we're focused on Alibaba, the most successful company you've likely never heard of....
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The Current25:00Alibaba is China's answer to Amazon and eBay and heading for the biggest stock offering in US history - September 9, 2014
Jack Ma, the richest man in China, is poised to take his company public in the U.S. It is predicted to be the biggest IPO in history, with the potential to dramatically shift the power centre of global commerce. Today, we're focused on Alibaba, the most successful company you've likely never heard of.

And people keep on asking me what's the difference between Amazon, eBay and Alibaba. I would say Amazon and eBay are e-commerce companies and Alibaba is not an e-commerce company. Alibaba helps others to do e-commerce. We do not sell things. We call ourself a company running a platform, a company that is running an ecosystem.Jack Ma, Founder of Alibaba

In the next few weeks, you'll hear a lot about a Chinese entrepreneur named Jack Ma and his company called Alibaba. It's an unfamiliar company to many Canadians, but it's the biggest e-commerce company in the world -- bigger than Amazon and eBay combined.

• Alibaba valuation calculator — Financial Times

Last year, Alibaba facilitated the delivery of more packages than UPS. Jack Ma -- the man who built the company -- is now the richest man in China.

Yesterday, company representatives kicked off a two-week roadshow to woo North American investors. And on September 19th, Alibaba will hold what is expected to be the largest stock offering in United States history, when it lists on the New York Stock Exchange. Some in the business say it could raise more than $20 billion.

Brad Stone is a Senior Writer for BusinessWeek magazine and the author of The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon. He has been covering the rise of Alibaba.

The fact that Alibaba could move nearly $250 billion worth of goods in a single year and barely raise the awareness of most North Americans says a lot about the increasing size and power of the Chinese middle class.

Michael Zakkour has spent a lot of time helping businesses understand that market and the impact it's having on the world. He's the China and Asia Pacific practice leader with the global consulting firm, Tompkins International. He's also the co-author of the soon-to-be released book, China's Super Customers: What One Billion Consumers Want and How to Sell it to Them.


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This segment was produced by The Current's Gord Westmacott.

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