Alibaba worried about Facebook IPO as it considered Nasdaq and NYSE

Alibaba Group could have sold nearly $2bn (€1.54bn) worth of stock without lifting a finger.

All it had to do was list its shares on Nasdaq.

That listing would have guaranteed Alibaba inclusion in the Nasdaq 100 Index by year end, and funds which track the index would have had to buy. But two sources said executives worried about Nasdaq’s ability to handle their $21bn initial public offering later this month, since the exchange botched Facebook’s market debut two years ago.