As IPO Approaches, ALIBABA Still A Mystery to Many Outside China -"The Alibaba Effect" Explains What's At Stake

On August 8, 2014, shares of Alibaba,  the Chinese e-commerce giant, under the ticker symbol "BABA", will go on sale to the public. It has the potential to be the largest tech IPO in history and perhaps one of the largest IPOs in history, period.  Yet Alibaba remains a mystery and an unknown quantity to most  investors, business people and consumers located outside of China.