By APD writer Alice

The shares of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba on Hong Kong market set a record on July 9 afternoon, raising its market capitalization to US$720 billion, higher than that of Facebook, at US$694.5 billion.

This made Alibaba the 6th most valuable company in the world, following Aramco, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet - parent company of Google.

On July 9, Alibaba’s shares rose 10% on Hong Kong, closing at a record HK$261.6 per share. The day before, this code also increased 9% on New York market to US$257.

Consulting firm Jefferies said that investors rushed to buy Alibaba shares due to concerns about missing the opportunity when the company made big profits. Jefferies places a buy recommendation on the stock, with a target price of HK$307.

Alibaba shows strong performance with multiple business models, and now has good prospects for recovery thanks to technological strengths. In the second quarter, the firm forecast its positive business results will be positive, with core marketplace as a strong cash cow.

Of the 21 analysts tracked by Bloomberg, all recommended buying Alibaba stock, with a target price of over HK$263. Alibaba is the pioneer in the wave of Chinese companies listing more in Hong Kong after an IPO in the US. It debuted on Hong Kong market in November 2019.

The world's most valuable company is still Saudi Aramco. The oil giant of Saudi Arabia made its IPO in December 2019 and it currently has a capitalization of US$1,770 billion.

Following Alibaba are Facebook, Tencent, Berkshire Hathaway and Visa.

However, the boss of Tencent Pony Ma is still the richest man in China and the 18th in the world, with a fortune of US$64.4 billion. Meanwhile, Alibaba founder Jack Ma came in second with US$52 billion. According to Bloomberg data, Jack Ma's wealth increased by 2.7 billion USD on july 9, while Pony Ma enjoyed a surge of 2.5 billion USD.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)