Alibaba Group became the largest company in Asia by market capitalization after its 2014 New York IPO.
Alibaba’s initial public offering took place on the New York Stock Exchange in September 2014. It raised about $21.8 billion at first, and the underwriters later exercised an option that brought the total to roughly $25 billion, making it the largest IPO in history at that time.
The company operates major e-commerce platforms, including Taobao and Tmall, and has also developed businesses in cloud computing, logistics, digital media, and payments through associated services. Its listing structure in New York used American depositary shares, allowing international investors to trade exposure to the company.
Alibaba’s record IPO was later surpassed by Saudi Aramco’s 2019 offering. Tencent, another major Chinese technology company, has often ranked highly by market value, but it was not the company named in this IPO milestone.