Alibaba plans flotation to become 8220 global company 8221

Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba has confirmed details of its impending stock flotation.

The company has revealed that its stocks will be made available in the coming months, but would not give any details of what date this will happen or which market will be used.

Some analysts have suggested that the stock flotation of the firm could be the biggest to take place in the US since Facebook did the same in 2012 and raised billions of dollars.

Specialists are now predicting that the listing will raise up to $15 billion (£9 billion), providing the firm with a massive cash pile that it can use to acquire rivals and grow its business.

"Alibaba Group has decided to commence the process of an initial public offering in the US," a statement released by the firm read.

"This will make us a more global company and enhance the company's transparency, as well as allow the company to continue to pursue our long-term vision and ideals."

Knock-on impact

Yahoo is among the companies that owns a significant stake in Alibaba, so the stock market flotation will be likely to raise a large amount of money for the internet company as well, reports BBC News.

The announcement was also good news for Softbank Corp, which has the Chinese ecommerce affiliate Alibaba Group Holdings at the present time. Stocks in the company rose by almost five per cent on the Nikkei today (March 17th), though the overall value of the index still fell to a new six-week low on concerns over the results of the Crimean referendum in Ukraine.

Alibaba first revealed plans to launch a stock market flotation last summer, but the proposals were put back after the firm's management structure did not comply with Hong Kong's listing rules. Hong Kong Stock Exchange chief executive Charles Li said: "We respect the company's decision and wish it well. We are proud of our tradition of respect for the rule of law and adherence to principles."

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