Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has begun its initial public offering process in the United States.

Alibaba's IPO is expected to be one of the largest ever in New York.

The announcement came on Sunday after Alibaba decided on New York after ruling out Hong Kong and London for the IPO.

Alibaba is expected to raise about 15-billion US dollars in what is being touted as the highest profile listing since Facebook's 16-billion dollar listing in 2012.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting Alibaba could launch its IPO as soon as April, which could allow trading to begin by the third quarter.

For more on the Alibaba listing, we're joined live now by Mike Bastin, Visiting Professor of China's University of Economics and Business.

1. Why did Alibaba chose New York over Hong Kong and London?

2. Sina Weibo has also filed for IPO in the United States. Why are so many of China's top companies choosing to list abroad?

3. Speaking of Alibaba, the central bank has also prohibited payments made by scanning a bar code with mobile devices, which is affecting the rollout of virtual credit card by Alibaba and Tencent. This comes less than a week after the companies announced the initiative. What's behind the decision and how will it impact growth opportunities of China's internet companies?

Back Anchor:

Mike Bastin, Visiting Professor of China's University of Economics and Business.