Eight can wait

Alibaba's fortune doesn't depend on lucky digits

Alibaba has shifted its likely initial public offering date from August to September. That means the Chinese e-commerce colossus will miss the previously mooted "double 8". But it matters little. Whatever happens, Alibaba's IPO is likely to generate some fantastical numbers - it can do without lucky ones, too.

The eighth of the eighth has double significance, since in Chinese its pronunciation is the same as the company's stock symbol, BABA. More significant for investors, however, are the figures that the Alibaba's operating business produces. With 39 per cent revenue growth in the first quarter of 2014, and a market share of around 85 per cent, Alibaba doesn't need gimmickry. A more mundane IPO date would show future investors that common sense is prevailing over ego. And as Facebook discovered, reaching for totemic numbers can backfire. The U.S. social network, whose $16 billion listing in May 2012 is likely to be pipped by Alibaba's own, was designed to suck as much out of shareholders as possible. That proved a miscalculation. After floating, the company's share price collapsed, and took over a year to recover.

When Alibaba does price its shares, it will be keen to show it is no Facebook. As for the date, though, bureaucracy probably plays more of a role than design. The New York Stock Exchange vets company filings closely, and Alibaba is only on its third round of amendments. Facebook and Groupon each had to amend and resubmit their paperwork eight times. So the magic digit may still turn up after all, just not where observers originally expected.