Jack Ma, Atypical Founder of a Tech Colossus

All eyes are on e-commerce giant Alibaba's upcoming initial public offering. Analysts predict that it could generate US$20 billion when it lists on the New York Stock Exchange, making it the biggest IPO in U.S. history. The Chinese tech firm's rise from a tiny start-up in Hangzhou to a dominant force in online commerce is due in no small part to the vision of its founder, Jack Ma.

A wiry, impish-looking man who has been described as a "funny guy" and a "genius", Ma is a former English teacher who claims to know nothing about technology. In 1995, he saw a computer for the first time while on a trip to the U.S. Inspired by the potential of the Internet, he set up China's first commercial Web page, running the enterprise out of his apartment. It was a failure, but undeterred, Ma raised more money and started the business-to-business e-commerce site Alibaba.com in 1999.

Since then, Ma's business acumen has turned Alibaba into China's number one online retailer and made him a billionaire. However, he's not only out for personal gain. Ma recently stepped down as chief executive of Alibaba to become chairman of the board of the Nature Conservancy in China, and he is using billions of his own dollars to establish a huge philanthropic trust.

Last year, transactions on Alibaba's websites totaled over US$248 billion -- more than all the purchases made on eBay and Amazon's sites combined. Incredibly, around 85 percent of all electronic commerce in China passes through the company's online consumer and retail platforms, Taobao and Tmall.com. And Alibaba's goods account for 60 percent of the packages shipped via China's postal system.

馬雲：電子商務的逆襲領導者

所有人都注目著電子商務巨擘阿里巴巴即將到來的首次公開發行。分析師預測該集團在紐約證券交易所上市可能會募集到兩百億美元，使其成為美國史上最大的首次公開發行。這家中國科技公司從杭州一家小新創企業崛起，到成為線上商務的主宰勢力，其創辦人馬雲的眼界功不可沒。
結實瘦小，看來有如頑童的馬雲，曾被形容為「逗趣的傢伙」和「天才」。他原本是個英語教師，號稱對科技一無所知。他在 1995 年走訪美國時第一次看到電腦。有感於網路的潛力，他設立了中國第一個商務網站，在自己的公寓裡經營這項事業。這次創業以失敗收場，但不氣餒的馬雲募集了更多資金，在 1999 年創立 B2B 電子商務網站阿里巴巴。
自那時起，馬雲的商業頭腦將阿里巴巴變成中國的線上零售商一哥，也讓他成為億萬富翁。不過他所追求的不只是個人利益。馬雲最近卸下阿里巴巴執行長的職務，成為中國自然保育協會的董事長，他也以個人的數十億財產成立了龐大的慈善信託基金。
去年，阿里巴巴旗下網站的交易總額超過 2,480 億美元——比 eBay 和亞馬遜網站上的消費金額加總還要多。難以置信的是，中國所有的電子商務約有 85% 都是透過該公司的線上消費者和零售平台淘寶與天貓所完成的。經由中國郵政系統所寄送的包裹也有 60% 是阿里巴巴的貨品。