, Columnist
Wanna Bet $1.3 Trillion on Chinese Regulators?
Homegrown heroes such as Alibaba and Tencent took advantage of a loophole to tap overseas investors. That’s looking riskier these days.
Jack Ma, phone home.
Photographer: Andrew Burton/Getty Images North AmericaThis article is for subscribers only.
If you hold shares in New York-listed Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., you don’t own a stake in a Chinese internet powerhouse.
What you have are the American depositary receipts of a Cayman Islands company that has a contract with the Chinese firm. In fact, the country’s largest search and e-commerce provider1is ultimately controlled by Alibaba Partnership, a collection of 38 people, most of whom hold senior positions in the company.