Alibaba Shares Open In New York

Public trading of the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has begun in New York. Shares in the company jumped by more than 40 percent from its initial public offering price.

Alibaba began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday at $92.70 (72.22 euros), a 36 percent jump from its initial public offering price of $68.



That value quickly rose and by 11: 58 a.m. local time those shares were trading at $99. The debut lifted the Chinese e-commerce giant's market value to $244 billion.



The floation is poised to be the biggest in history if underwriters exercise their option to sell more shares in Alibaba.



cjc/rs (Reuters, AFP)