SHANGHAI -- Investors are champing at the bit over Alibaba's planned initial public offering, slavering over a company that seized roughly 80% of China's burgeoning e-commerce market by becoming the first to offer consumers a safe way to buy goods online.
Alibaba's online shopping site is a platform for businesses and individuals looking to sell and buy goods. Its costs are low since it does not procure or ship products to customers. An analyst at Hong Kong investment bank Bocom International says Alibaba has a business model that allows it to keep expanding.
