Deals
Alibaba Coming to U.S. Shows Strengths and Risks of China Bets
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It’s easy to get caught up in the glossy numbers within Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s IPO prospectus: 44 percent profit margins, 72 percent revenue growth, and 231 million active buyers last year.
Beyond page 19 of the document, though, lies a stark reminder that investing in a Chinese company -- especially one as sprawling as Alibaba -- is also a wager on how well it can get along with Beijing. The company may raise as much as $20 billion in its initial public offering later this year, 100 times more than the average Chinese IPO in the U.S.