1992年,，馬云(Jack Ma)還是杭州的一位英語教師,，他需要籌措大約4000美元來創(chuàng)辦他的首個企業(yè)——一家翻譯機構(gòu)。他努力了好幾個月,，卻沒有成功,。
上周五，這位阿里巴巴(Alibaba)的創(chuàng)始人卻成功實現(xiàn)了史上最大規(guī)模的上市活動之一,，在一部分全球最大型銀行的幫助下,，從一部分全球最大的投資者手中籌集了218億美元。
為了做到這一點,，他曾面臨一個挑戰(zhàn)：要在包括100場會議的路演中說服投資者相信,，他的集團可為他們帶來中國電商成長故事中的誘人好處，同時不會讓他們面臨西方投資者常在中國企業(yè)身上看到的風險,。如今,，問題變成了他能否兌現(xiàn)他的承諾。
在上市臨近之時,，潛在的投資者表達了幾點擔憂：首先是這家在開曼群島注冊的集團的架構(gòu),，該集團的許多業(yè)務(wù)是通過馬云及其一位同事所有的“可變利益實體”(VIE)運營的；其次是該集團的治理結(jié)構(gòu),，該集團實權(quán)落在一個由30人組成的合伙人團隊手中,；還有就是對中國自身的擔憂，在中國目前的熱點新聞中,，到處都是有關(guān)腐敗及政府干預的消息,。
馬云甚至還曾告訴潛在的股東，他們的利益將被擺在阿里巴巴的客戶和員工之后,。然而,，截至開盤當日收盤時，阿里巴巴的股價較發(fā)行價上漲了38%,。投資者對阿里巴巴首次公開發(fā)行(IPO)的這種回應表明,，馬云贏得了他們的支持。
今年50歲的馬云想讓國際投資者相信,，不僅阿里巴巴不像許多中國企業(yè)那樣神秘,，而且這次IPO將有助于該集團進一步提高透明度。
在紐約證交所(NYSE),，鏡頭前的馬云一再強調(diào)：“要信任,。信任我們，信任市場,，信任年輕人,。信任新科技。世界正變得更加透明,。”
摩根凱瑞資本管理公司(Morgan Creek Capital Management)首席執(zhí)行官馬克•尤斯科(Mark Yusko)表示：“對中國企業(yè),、中國企業(yè)架構(gòu)和中國政府的偏見,，是有待克服的巨大障礙,。”
阿里巴巴IPO營銷的核心內(nèi)容,，是它對中國增長的預期。在中國,，消費者開支正迅速增長,，互聯(lián)網(wǎng)普及率遠遠落后于歐美和日本，電子商務(wù)正呈現(xiàn)爆炸式增長,。
馬云告訴CNBC,，中國每天遞送的2700萬包裹，多數(shù)源于使用阿里巴巴平臺的企業(yè),。然而,，10年內(nèi)中國每天遞送的包裹數(shù)或?qū)⒃鲩L到2億個。他說,，阿里巴巴很像全球最大零售商沃爾瑪(Walmart),，是一家“改變了世界”的企業(yè)。他接著說,，除此之外,，“我們還想比沃爾瑪做得更大”。
阿里巴巴的治理結(jié)構(gòu)曾令它無法在香港上市,。不過馬云表示,，為確保阿里巴巴的企業(yè)文化在創(chuàng)始人離開后仍能延續(xù)，這種獨特的合伙人結(jié)構(gòu)很有必要,。
馬云還回答了西方基金經(jīng)理對中國發(fā)展趨勢的懷疑,。他寫道，“由于文化視角,、價值觀,、甚至是地緣政治定位上的分歧”，任何能與阿里巴巴相提并論的中國互聯(lián)網(wǎng)企業(yè)預計都會遭遇人們的懷疑,。不過,，阿里巴巴有機會“在中國創(chuàng)造新的商業(yè)定式”。
部分投資者問到阿里巴巴是否會與中國政府發(fā)生沖突,，馬云對阿里巴巴的描繪卻正相反,。他說，阿里巴巴是一家?guī)椭鉀Q政府面臨的問題的企業(yè),。他說,，每年有850萬商家通過阿里巴巴在線市場交易價值3000億美元的商品，阿里巴巴不僅創(chuàng)造了就業(yè)崗位,，還支持著農(nóng)村小企業(yè)的發(fā)展,，推動著經(jīng)濟增長,。
在與投資者談話時，馬云（他取英文名時聽從了一名美國游客的建議）一直努力打消人們對其可能在美國電商市場引起一場腥風血雨的擔憂,。美國電商市場是全世界最發(fā)達的,。
阿里巴巴已在幫助從加州到華盛頓的小企業(yè)將車厘子和海鮮等商品賣到中國。相對于直接挑戰(zhàn)亞馬遜(Amazon)和eBay,，他對開發(fā)亞洲和非洲的市場更有興趣,。
馬云一直說服投資者信任他，迄今為止他成功了,。此次路演讓阿里巴巴團隊的許多資深成員首次密集接觸到從倫敦到新加坡的各國投資者的思維方式,。在路演之后，馬云國際野心的提升可能會催生此次IPO的另一項寶貴遺產(chǎn),。
In 1992, when Jack Ma was an English teacher in Hangzhou, he needed about $4,000 to start his first business, a translation agency. He tried for months without success.
On Friday, Alibaba’s founder pulled off one of the largest listings in history, raising $21.8bn from some of the world’s largest investors and with the help of some of world’s largest banks.
To do so, he faced the challenge of persuading investors on a 100-meeting roadshow that his group could offer them the allure of China’s ecommerce growth story without the risks western investors often see in Chinese companies. Now, the question is whether he can deliver on his promises.
As the listing approached, potential investors voiced several concerns: about the structure of the Cayman Islands-registered group which conducts much of its business through “variable interest entities” owned by Mr Ma and a colleague; about a corporate governance arrangement wher power resides in a partnership of 30 people; and about China itself, wher headlines are dominated by corruption and government intervention.
Mr Ma even told prospective shareholders that their interests would come after those of Alibaba’s customers and employees. Yet the response to Alibaba’s initial public offering, with the shares ending the opening day 38 per cent above wher they priced, suggests he won them over.
The 50-year-old set out to convince international investors not only that Alibaba was less mysterious than many Chinese companies, but that the IPO would help it become more transparent.
In front of the cameras at the New York Stock Exchange, he hammered home this message: “Trust. Trust us, trust the market, and trust the young people. Trust the new technology. The world is getting more transparent.”
Mark Yusko, chief investment officer of Morgan Creek Capital Management, said: “Bias against Chinese companies, against Chinese corporate structures and against the Chinese government were huge hurdles to overcome.”
At the core of Alibaba’s sales pitch lay its growth projections for China, wher consumer spending is rising fast, internet penetration lags far behind the US, Europe and Japan, and ecommerce is exploding.
Businesses using Alibaba already account for a majority of the 27m packages shipped in China each day, but in 10 years the number of packages could hit 200m a day, Mr Ma told CNBC. Much like Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, Alibaba was a company that “shaped the world”, he said. For good measure, he added: “We want to be bigger than Walmart.”
Alibaba’s governance structure was enough to prevent a Hong Kong listing, but Mr Ma said that its unusual partnership structure was needed to ensure that its culture could outlive its founder.
Mr Ma also tackled western fund managers’ qualms about China head on. Any comparable Chinese internet company could expect to face scepticism “due to differences in cultural perspectives, values and even geopolitical positioning”, he wrote. But Alibaba had the opportunity “to create a new business paradigm in China”.
As some investors asked whether Alibaba might fall foul of China’s government, Mr Ma painted it instead as a company that helped solve the state’s problems. With 8.5m sellers trading $300bn worth of goods through its marketplaces each year, it was creating jobs, supporting small businesses in rural villages and aiding economic growth, he said.
Mr Ma, who adopted his anglicised name on the suggestion of a US tourist, in conversations with investors has played down fears that he might pick a fight in the US, the most developed ecommerce market in the world.
Alibaba was already helping small businesses from California to Washington sell goods including cherries and seafood to China. He is more interested in developing markets in Asia and Africa than in going head-to-head with Amazon and eBay.
Mr Ma has so far persuaded investors to take him on trust. But after a roadshow that gave many of his senior team their first intense exposure to the thinking of investors from London to Singapore, the boost to his international ambitions could provide another valuable legacy from the IPO.