Hong Kong

(Newser) - Chinese business-to-business platform Alibaba held its IPO on the Hong Kong stock market today, nearly tripling in share price in first-day trading. The company raised $1.5 billion (US) by selling just 17% of its shares. "I think Alibaba's share price is way ahead of its fundamentals; I think the best advice is to get out as soon as possible," said one wary investor. More »

(Newser) - In its first day of trading, PetroChina Co. became the world’s most valuable company, hitting $1 trillion in market capitalization after shares nearly tripled to 43.96 yuan from an IPO of 16.7 yuan. It’s now worth more than the entire Russian stock market. Some analysts interpreted the valuation as  “an indication of China coming of age,” Bloomberg reports. For others, it’s a sign of an unsustainable market bubble. More »

(Newser) - Asian and European stock indexes declined today, and US futures dropped sharply as news of Citigroup's projected $11 billion writedown triggered fears that the subprime mortgage crisis will continue to roil markets. Japan’s Nikkei stock index closed 1.5% down, a 7-week low, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 5.01%, AP reports. UK, German, and French indexes were all off in midday trading. More »

(Newser) - Stocks plummeted across Asia today, sustaining the biggest losses in more than two months after concerns that Citigroup might be short of cash rattled investors. Mitsubishi UFJ, the largest bank in Japan, dropped 6% as the Nikkei fell to 16,517.48, a 2.1% fall. Financial shares led the declines as Asian banks worry that subprime woes will continue to undermine earnings. More »

(Newser) - British mobile phone provider "3" is unveiling a handset which lets users make free calls over the Net using Skype. The phone won't let you use Skype to make cheap calls to any phone number, like you could over the Internet, but still represents a new level of availability for the service. "Skype has now taken a giant step forward in the mobile arena," chief executive Michael van Swaaij tells the BBC. More »

(Newser) - Cyber thieves have pinched 94 million credit cards from a discount retailer—double the last estimate—and spent up to $83 million as far as Hong Kong and Sweden, the AP reports. Banks are now suing the retailer, TJX Cos., to recover their losses. But those losses keep growing: "You know, these [card numbers] are going to be sold off for a period of time in the future, so it's going to continue," says a Visa exec. More »

(Newser) - Chinese security forces in Tibet have clashed with Buddhist monks celebrating the Dalai Lama's recent honor from the US, the Guardian reported. Police and soldiers in the capital Lhasa and in outlying areas cracked down on monasteries holding special services in honor of the Tibetan spiritual leader, according to Hong Kong media and Tibetan activist groups. More »

(Newser) - In a welcome boost after this year's devastating subprime losses, Bear Stearns today moved to secure a long-coveted slice of the Chinese market. Stearns and China’s Citic Securities Co. agreed  to invest $1 billion in each other, pooling their Asian resources to develop new products for the Chinese market, and launching a Hong Kong-based joint venture to reach markets outside China, Bloomberg reports. More »

(Newser) - Alibaba, the business-to-business service that links small and mid-sized Chinese manufacturers to customers around the world, is expected today to announce what will likely be the biggest Internet IPO  in Chinese history. Analysts expect the world's most-visited import/export site to pull in an estimated $1.3 billion from Hong Kong investors, the Wall Street Journal reports. More »