China has passed the United States in the number of billionaires, driven by the rise of fortunes in technology and manufacturing, according to a new survey.

Hundsun Technologie, the financial information technology company controlled by Alibaba Group Holding founder Jack Ma, yesterday rejected media criticism that blamed its platform for China’s stock market rout.

The richest people got richer in 2014, adding $92bn (€75.6bn) to their collective fortune in the face of falling energy prices and the geopolitical turmoil incited by Russian president Vladimir Putin.

China’s president is to visit Ireland again following an invitation by President Higgins in Beijing.

Chinese censors have blocked access to several popular websites as they target content delivery networks that serve much of the internet, according to a US internet service company.

Alibaba Group Holding, the e-commerce company started in 1999 with $60,000 by Jack Ma, yesterday cemented its status as a symbol of China’s economic emergence by raising $21.8bn (€16.9bn) in a US initial public offering.

Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce powerhouse named after a fabled, poor woodsman who discovers a thieves’ den full of treasures, is ready to strike it rich on Wall Street.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, China’s biggest e-commerce company, will begin the process of filing for an initial public offering in the US that may be the biggest since Facebook.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, China’s largest e-commerce company, has agreed to repurchase a 20% stake in itself from US web portal Yahoo for €5.6m ahead of a potential initial public offering.

The chief executive of Chinese internet company Alibaba Group Holding says he would be “very interested” in buying Yahoo.