Alibaba looks to avoid Facebook's IPO woes

Alibaba Group Holding, the world’s biggest online retailer, will look to avoid a Facebook-style IPO flop by setting its eventual IPO at a conservative price, Bloomberg reported, citing an anonymous source. The company is already experiencing some speculation, similar to the run up to Facebook’s IPO, which fell in value after selling high on the opening day. While some analysts believe an Alibaba IPO could hit the US$100 billion (RMB615 billion) mark, a poll of analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg shows the expected amount to be in the $US62.5 billion (RMB384 billion) range. Should an IPO happen, and Alibaba says it has no immediate plans for one, some of the proceeds would be used buy back equity owned by Yahoo, the source said.