The Biggest IPO You Haven’t Heard Of

The Wall Street Journal reported that a Chinese company few Canadians have heard of is preparing for what could be the largest Internet IPO in history. The current record for largest initial public offering (IPO) is Google’s August 2004 IPO that raised $1.9 billion. Beijing Jingdong Century Trading, who runs 360buy.com, a fast-growing on-line shopping site, is expected to go to market in the first half of 2012.

Revenue at Jingdong rose to $1.6 billion in 2010 from $600 million in 2009. They have 12,000 employees, 50 warehouses and make about 70% of their own deliveries through a satellite-enabled supply chain that allows them to track the item from warehouse through to delivery.

The largest Chinese on-line shopping company is currently Taobao, owned by Alibaba Group Holding, which has a 71% share of online purchases. At the moment, over $60 billion worth of goods are purchased online in China.

The exciting thing about following the developments in China is that it’s as if we could be transported back in time to when North America was experiencing high growth and new business models. Imagine, knowing what you know now, and participating in the launch of Apple, Amazon, or Starbucks. Who knows what businesses will ultimately survive this phase of China’s economic development, but business professionals such as Black Belts in North America need to improve and continually update their knowledge of this crucial and fascinating market.