Alibaba's emptying cave shows a scramble for growth

Sydney

WHEN the Persian woodcutter Ali Baba found a cave full of treasure hidden in the forest, he didn't spend it all at once. He took home just enough to live on comfortably, and passed on the secret to his children, and his children's children, and his children's children's children.

That's a good way of making the most of a finite store of wealth. So it's striking that Alibaba has taken exactly the opposite approach. The company raised US$25 billion in the world's biggest initial public offering (IPO). Billions more have come in since then through bonds and loans. Suppose the core business isn't making as much as investors suppose. What do you do with the cash?