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Surprisingly many investors in the West still haven't heard of Alibaba. The Chinese online retail giant launches its IPO this week in New York amid the sort of hype normally reserved for celebrities. So what's all the fuss about and is the hype justified?

   

The most recent financial results for Alibaba show a massive USD 7.3 Billion in revenue, a year-on-year growth of fifty five percent, the sort of turbo charged numbers which have investors drooling. Alibaba’s EBITDA margin is sixty eight percent versus fifty one percent at Facebook, a key indication of just how rich the company has become since it was founded in 1999.

The number of active users on Alibaba’s e-commerce platforms has risen to two hundred and fifty five million from one hundred and seventy two million a year ago, that’s an important positive development which can only strengthen demand for the shares when they go on sale. Hype or no hype this is a firm which looks set to instantly become one of the largest companies traded in the US as well as being a giant in China.           

Investors do have a way of trading the hype by buying stock in Yahoo which owns a 23% stake in Alibaba.