Bought 2000 Alibaba.com Shares

At first, I was very excited when Alibaba.com announced its IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in early November, but then only to be disappointed by a regulatory procedure which blocks any purchase by US investors of any foreign IPOs within the first 40 days of trading. At that time, I thought I might not be able to buy Alibaba at all after seeing the share price jumped to HK$39.50 at the close of its first trading day in Hong Kong.

That was then. Things are quite different now.

Alibaba actually went through a roller-coaster ride in the first month after becoming a public company. The stock reached a low of HK$27.35 one week after the IPO, then bounced back to a record close HK$39.70 on November 30, but only to touch a new low of HK$26.10 on December 17, the exact date when the 40-day freeze period expires.

As I was getting ready to make the purchase, E-Trade announced last week that they are having a zero commission day today when customers can make unlimited commission free trading of both US and global stocks. It’s just what I need at the time when I need it. So last night after 12:00 pm I placed order to buy 2000 shares of Alibaba.com (1688.HK) at a limit price of HK$27.50.

It saved me $30 of commission and at the close of Hong Kong trading over night, Alibaba.com settled at HK$28.00, HK$0.50 above the price I paid.

Well, is it a good time to buy the stock? Maybe, maybe not. And what’s happening in the US stock markets is not helping the HK market. Will the stock fall even more? That’s possible, especially when China is going to tighten monetary policy next year. But I plan to hold the stock for a long time, so I am not too concerned about the price at which I bought it.

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