Alibaba's $25bn IPO is largest in history – here are 6 stonking stats about it

Alibaba’s $25bn IPO was by far the mother of all stock market debuts.

For those of you who don’t know, Alibaba is a Chinese internet giant which operates China’s equivalents to eBay, Amazon and Twitter among other businesses.

Last week’s IPO made its founder Jack Ma the richest person in China with a $25bn (£15bn) fortune.

Here are six mind-blowing facts about Alibaba

1. Alibaba’s $25bn IPO was the largest share floatation in the world

Yes, that’s right. On 19 September, Alibaba’s stock debuted at $92.70, more than 38% above its $68 initial price. The firm beat the record $22.1bn China’s Agricultural Bank raised in 2010.

2. Alibaba’s stock market debut was bigger than Facebook, Amazon and Google

According to Forbes, Alibaba raised more than the total amount raised by Google, Facebook and Twitter IPOs ($19.8bn).

3. Alibaba’s annual sales: $248bn

Alibaba sold more than $248bn worth of goods last year through its retail sites Taobao (China’s eBay), T-Mall (online retailer) and Alipay (an online payment platform).

4. Alibaba’s active users: 279 million

Alibaba boasts 279 million activer users who placed 11.3 billion orders in 2013.

5. Alibaba accounts for 80% of all online retail sales in China

Over 80% of all online retail sales in China are via Alibaba’s platforms. It sees more transactions than Amazon and eBay combined.

6. Alibaba made $3.5bn worth of acquisitions in the past year

Last year, Alibaba spent $215m on California-based messaging and free-calling app Tango. It also holds 18% Stake in China’s Twitter-equivalent Weibo.