The year is 1995 and the Chinese English teacher is visiting the United States. He writes in “Chinese” and “beer” in the search field, and get no results. When he comes home, he starts internet guide China Pages. Since almost no one in China still have a PC, it will be a huge flop. But Ma does not give up. In 1998, he started a website to help small local businesses to sell their products online. He baptizes company Alibaba, after the loggers in the Arabian Nights -eventyret, who find a hidden treasure. This time he meets.
16 years later, Jack Ma China’s richest man with a fortune of over 120 billion. He has long been a colorful cult figure in Chinese business. Now he will conquer the world.
The Empire Ma takes on a stock exchange in New York later in September, China’s largest e-commerce company and a leader in the rat race to become the first truly global e-commerce site.
According to Bloomberg waits analysts that the company on listing day will sell shares over 123 billion, which in this case will be the biggest IPO in New York ever.
In comparison, sold Facebook share of around 99 billion on its first day on the exchange, while Visa is the largest ever in the United States with more than 118 billion.
Friday the company went out with information ahead of the IPO, which valued the company 155 billion dollars. That means in this case that the company is the third largest power company in the United States and the largest stock exchange debut ever, says The Wall Street Journal.
“Crocodile in the Yangtze River”
Ma has not been idle after it released for alibaba.com and seems willing to go into battle against virtually anyone – apart from the Chinese authorities.
When eBay entered the Chinese market in 2002, declared Ma war and created the competing company Taobao, which means “treasure hunt” to send Americans off. Although eBay primarily sell to private persons feared Ma that way from the private market segment for small companies would be short for the intruder.
Taobao started aggressively including massive TV advertising and free registration of ads. The knowledge of the Chinese market and temperament made Taobao quickly got a head start on solid American competitor.
“eBay may be a shark in the ocean, but I am a crocodile in the Yangtze River. We fight in the ocean, we lose – but we fight in the river, we win, “said Ma to author Helen H. Wang, who has written a book about the company.
The crocodile made short work: Four years after Taobao had secured 67 percent of the market, while eBay had 29 “contest is over, it’s time to clean the battlefield,” proclaimed Ma. Shortly after drew eBay out of China.
Later, Ma also taken a gulp of the more exclusive market with portal Tmall, where Western brands like Mango, M & S, Clinique and Estée Lauder offers its products to the increasingly affluent Chinese middle class.
Erratic swordsman
Alibaba’s certainly not the new kid anymore. Last year it sold goods for nearly 250 billion dollars through the company web portals. The American competitors Amazon and eBay sold respectively half and a third as much as Alibaba. Over half of all China’s parcel last year stemmed from trading on Alibaba. Under China’s biggest trading day, the local Valentine twist “single day”, traded Taobao and Tmall products for over 35 billion total.
Ma is known for an aggressive business style and hailed by his young supporters and employees as rock star. According to Business Week, he organizes his recruits according to principles similar to an army. He is a huge fan of Kung Fu fantasy books and asking employees to take business names for the characters in the stories he loved as a youth. He has taken the name “Feng Qingyang,” after a loner by a swordsman who was both erratic and aggressive.
The entrepreneur has an authoritarian leadership style, and together with a group of 25 key leaders, he takes all decisions company. Employees are expected to embrace change, turning on his heel and carry out orders. The few employees who do not like the authoritarian style, reluctant to criticize him publicly. It also makes his competitors.
– In love with government
Ma reiterates often that the internet will make China a more transparent and open society. At the same time he criticized to disclose information about dissidents data traffic to the authorities. According to the Financial Times business man repeatedly declined offers to run utilities along with government companies.
– Be in love with the government, but marry never with it, is a motto Ma often repeat their employees .
China’s political elite has still managed to find a straw into Alibaba coffin. According to a review New York Times recently did, led to several companies which in recent years has spit money into Aliababa, the sons-in-law and grandchildren of the country’s top politicians. Information about those owners who hide behind complex company structures arising in tax havens, are available in the papers of American financial authorities. And even if the companies do not own large equity holdings, are probably both their influence and contacts of great importance, according to the New York Times.
The IPO will most likely bring new, hard cash on top of the treasure chest for Jack Ma, who controls 9 percent of the company. Analysts expect the company will be valued at somewhere between 150 and 200 billion dollars at the exchange.
Meeting marathon
Currently heats Ma admitted to listing on the holding over 100 investor meetings over three continents – in two weeks. 50th anniversary of September 10, he will celebrate with meeting potential investors in New York. But those who buy into Alibaba, can forget about getting any influence over the company. Ma has in fact ensured that he and his partners retain full control over their gold mine, in that they nominate more than half of the board.
This device allowed the company was refused listing on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. But in New York’s government with arms outstretched against the company makes money at record-pace.
In the second quarter, the company had a profit of 12.4 billion, which is significantly more than the profits from eBay and Amazon combined in the same period.
Will he succeed?
The company remains the largest part of its business in China, but positioning themselves to make greater inroads into the wallets of Western Web users. The company recently including spitting into money in the fledgling “kompiskjørings” company hoisting, which is a competitor to the more familiar Uber app and online store Shop Runner, which starts to become a major competitor to Amazon.
– With this type of investment they will have access to solid products, they make a name for themselves and perhaps most important – they build networks and trust towards risk communities, says analyst Sameer Sinha investee company B. Riley & amp; Co. New York Times.
The company has also entered with money in Snapchat.
Alibaba has recently taken over the 26th floor of the skyscraper Pacific Telephone & amp; Telegraph Building in San Francisco. The building is located smack in the middle of America’s technology capital.
So it remains to see if the crocodile equally successful in the fight against sharks eBay and Amazon when the fight now be fought in the open sea. In that case, he has the whole world as their treasure.
Sources: Bloomberg, Economist, Business Week, New York Times, Financial Times.
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