Expect Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba’s IPO valuation to top...

Expect Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba’s IPO valuation to top $150 billion, said financial analysts in interviews Thursday. There isn’t another e-commerce company that could receive Alibaba’s valuation, said David Menlow, IPOfinancial.com president, who said the IPO is scheduled for Sept. 19. The valuation will probably be about $160 billion, a conservative opening given the company’s market share in China, said Henry Guo, a JG Capital analyst who follows China’s Internet sector. Guo expects Alibaba’s value to balloon to $230 billion or $240 billion over the next year. Alibaba will focus on the Chinese market in the short term, but is likely to be “aggressive” in international markets in the coming years, he said. One concern with the IPO is how the company will handle the Chinese government’s stringent banking policies (Alibaba also hosts financial transactions), but CEO Jack Ma probably has the best relationship with the Chinese government of any private-sector individual in the country, Guo said. Yahoo, a major Alibaba shareholder, will likely use some of its IPO earnings to invest in emerging technologies, including mobile, he said. Alibaba will expand to the U.S., said Menlow. He said Ma isn’t going to be “happy with business as usual, it’s going to be business as unusual."