Despite the ongoing violence in Hong Kong, demand for Alibaba's secondary listing has been so strong that the Chinese e-commerce giant founded by Jack Ma (pictured) will stop taking orders from retail investors earlier than planned. The listing is expected to raise up to $13bn to supplement the $25bn mustered in the 2014 initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange.
What's more, the "increasing hostilities" between China and the US, which have included the "outlandish" suggestion from the White House that Chinese companies be de-listed from US exchanges, means that it makes sense from a business perspective for Alibaba to "diversify its funding sources".
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Alibaba needs the money, say Carol Zhong and Lulu Yilun Chen on Bloomberg. "The engines of China's economy are sputtering" and it needs to fend off local rivals "nipping at its heels".
Alibaba is facing competition from Tencent and Baidu in cloud computing and entertainment, from Meituan Dianping in food delivery and from "everyone" when it comes to finding promising start-ups .
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Millions at risk of 'unnecessary' tax bill – how to shield your savingsMillions of Brits could be taxed on their savings interest this year as their savings interest exceeds the personal savings allowance. Are you at risk?
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Savers will have to wait as long as 48 years to build a £1m cash ISA pot if allowance is cutChancellor Rachel Reeves is rumoured to be planning a cut to the cash ISA allowance in the Autumn Budget, making it harder for savers to build wealth. Will you still be able to build a £1 million cash ISA pot?
