The WSJ reports,"In an amended filing for its initial public offering, released Monday, Alibaba included a host of details investors had complained were missing in its initial filing in May. Chief among them: a sales breakdown for the e-commerce company's two main shopping sites; names of the 27 people who control nominations for a majority of the board; details related to its Alipay online-payments affiliate; insight into the company's acquisition strategy; and more information on how the company is planning to handle shipping inside China".
"Alibaba also released new financial figures that showed the company's margins were under pressure—falling to 45.3% in the quarter ended in March from 51.3% a year earlier—due to rising spending to attract mobile users".
"The broader disclosure in the amended filing, which was released as part of a back-and-forth with U.S. securities regulators prior to the IPO's approval, is aimed at making sure global investors are comfortable with Alibaba, which is a household name in China but relatively unknown in the West.
Yet some investors say there are plenty of questions left, from how much the company charges merchants for marketing and advertising on its site, to guidance on acquisition and spending plans".
In Monday's filing, Alibaba for the first time revealed that Taobao, its biggest consumer marketplace with millions of small Chinese merchants, handled $177 billion of transactions last year—more than twice as much as Tmall, an online mall that hosts brands and retailers, which handled $70 billion. But Tmall has been growing much faster than Taobao over the past year, with transaction volume in the first quarter of the year rising 90% over the previous year, versus 32% for Taobao.
Alibaba also said Tmall, which charges commissions, generates more revenue per transaction than Taobao, which makes money mostly through advertising.
Alibaba expanded the section on acquisitions to explain some of the rationale behind its recent multibillion-dollar acquisition spree. Its recent acquisition of mobile Web browser operator UCWeb helped Alibaba gain access to 264 million monthly active smartphone users, while another investment in one of China's most successful soccer teams gives it a "marketing platform" that could expose the company to millions of Chinese soccer fans, the filing said.
Alibaba said it takes minority investments in companies to feel out its relationship with potential acquisition targets, before moving to buy the entire company. Alibaba's minority stakes in Youku Tudou Inc.,a Chinese online video site, and popular China social-networking site Weibo would give it a better grasp of Internet users' behavior, which could be useful for marketing, the company said.
Alibaba also gave new details of risks facing its payments affiliate Alipay, which has been extremely successful at pushing into areas that are traditionally the preserve of banks, like investment management. Alibaba said some Chinese banks had put caps on the amount consumers are allowed to transfer to Alipay per day, ranging from 10,000 yuan ($1,610) to 50,000 yuan. Alibaba says the caps aren't significant, but admits it cannot predict the banks' future behavior.
Alibaba listed the nine members of its post-IPO board—a group that includes Alibaba's charismatic founder Jack Ma and the company's executive vice chairman, Joseph Tsai, as well as former Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa.
The company revealed the 27 members of its "partnership" structure, which has the power to nominate more than half of its board. Twenty-two of those members are from Alibaba's management including Messrs. Ma and Tsai, while four are executives of Alipay, and one is an executive at Alibaba's logistics joint venture.
China Smart Logistics, a joint venture in which Alibaba holds a 48% stake, plans to build a nationwide network of logistic hubs such as warehouses, distribution centers and other facilities, placing them in locations where it expects the highest consumer demand. In some cities, China Smart Logistics will form partnerships with other companies to build out delivery infrastructure, at times taking on debt to do so, Alibaba said. The joint venture's long-term goal is "to support the delivery of over 100 million packages a day to consumers' doorsteps anywhere in China within 24 hours of an order being placed," Alibaba said.
Alibaba is aiming to list in New York during the first half of August, according to people familiar with the company's plans.
