Internet Power Balance Tilts Toward Asia

The initial public offering from Alibaba Group Holding, Ltd., China’s largest e-commerce company, demonstrates a shift of technological and market dominance towards Asia, suggests an article in the Wall Street Journal. With Alibaba hitting the market, four of the top 10 most highly valued web companies in the world are based in Asia, the others being Baidu, JD.com and Tencent Holdings. Nearly half of the world’s internet users reside in Asia. Meanwhile, language barriers are an obstacle for non-Asian firms. Success in Asia could boost global ambitions of the region’s top internet firms, as exemplified by Baidu’s growing interest in Brazil, Egypt and Thailand. In fact, Jack Ma, Alibaba’s executive chairman, has announced plans to expand in US and European markets following this IPO, and has already launched a US site called 11 Main. Analysts anticipate fierce competition among the online marts because the internet knows no borders once obstacles of language and cultural preferences are overcome. – YaleGlobal