:00:00. > :00:00.Those are the latest headlines from BBC World News. Now for the latest
:00:00. > :00:16.financial news in World Business Report.
:00:17. > :00:28.A new life for Fiat Chrysler. It could be the largest stock market
:00:29. > :00:37.flotation ever. Ali Barber Mack files to offer shares on the New
:00:38. > :00:41.York stock exchange. `` Ali ``Alibaba. CEO Sergio Marchionne
:00:42. > :00:46.outlines his five`year plan and brings Alfa Romeo back to the US.
:00:47. > :00:50.Welcome to World Business Report. I'm Sally Bundock. Also in the
:00:51. > :00:53.programme: South Africans go to the polls today in a general election.
:00:54. > :00:56.Our team there assesses the outlook for the economy.
:00:57. > :01:02.It could be the largest share sale in history. Chinese internet giant
:01:03. > :01:05.Alibaba has filed documents for a market floatation in New York and
:01:06. > :01:11.analysts predict the company could raise more than $15 billion, topping
:01:12. > :01:14.Facebook's initial public offering. Alibaba did not disclose details of
:01:15. > :01:17.the number of shares it intends to sell or the price range, but the
:01:18. > :01:20.euphoria is already in the markets with estimates of the e`tailer's
:01:21. > :01:29.market value soaring to even beyond $200 billion. The difference is
:01:30. > :01:35.Alibaba actually already makes profits and a lot of it. Last year
:01:36. > :01:41.it raked in more money than its American peers Amazon and eBay
:01:42. > :01:50.combined. Let's go to our Asian business hub
:01:51. > :01:56.in Singapore. At last they have filed in New York. We can move onto
:01:57. > :02:03.the next stage. Absolutely. We don't know the stock price or when it will
:02:04. > :02:09.be launched, but the big issue was over the past several months,
:02:10. > :02:12.whether Alibaba should be listing in New York or its home base,
:02:13. > :02:18.particularly on the Hong Kong stock exchange. You have them listing in
:02:19. > :02:25.New York after the exchange in Hong Kong was against the company's
:02:26. > :02:28.proposed structure, which would have breached rules by allowing senior
:02:29. > :02:32.executives to nominate the majority of the board. Among major
:02:33. > :02:42.shareholders set to benefit from this initial public offering, US
:02:43. > :02:53.technology giant Yahoo. They own a 22.6% stake in the firm. Alibaba
:02:54. > :02:57.isn't well known outside mainland, where they have an 80% share of the
:02:58. > :03:03.online retail market. It is best described as a mix of eBay, PayPal,
:03:04. > :03:11.Amazon and Google. Many describe it as an 800 pound gorilla in China's
:03:12. > :03:17.internet economy. That is a good way of as you say, we have heard of the
:03:18. > :03:23.company, but we can't yet use the company in the UK, the US,
:03:24. > :03:29.elsewhere. Will it take on Amazon outside mainland China? According to
:03:30. > :03:35.analysts that could be a strategy going forward. Alibaba is trying to
:03:36. > :03:41.make its presence felt by appealing to British and American companies
:03:42. > :03:46.who are thirsting for a piece of China's growing population of
:03:47. > :03:53.wealthy consumers. One of its major businesses is a shopping site and
:03:54. > :03:57.has already lowered a number of British brands to open up
:03:58. > :04:01.storefronts on its platform, including Burberry, Marks Spencer
:04:02. > :04:10.and others. It has attracted famous names including Apple, Microsoft,
:04:11. > :04:14.NIKKEI, Levi's and others. Being awash with cash, it is making major
:04:15. > :04:25.investments with technology start`ups in the US ``Nike. A lot of
:04:26. > :04:28.excitement about this. Sergio Marchionne will stay on as
:04:29. > :04:31.boss of Fiat Chrysler for the next five years to oversee his new growth
:04:32. > :04:40.plan. The carmaker wants to boost global sales by 59% by 2018. And its
:04:41. > :04:43.relying on more brands to do it. These targets are part of its latest
:04:44. > :04:50.five`year plan unveiled late on Tuesday. Michelle Fleury reports
:04:51. > :04:53.from New York. Back in the 1920s, when Chrysler was
:04:54. > :04:58.defining the American middle`class dream, they wouldn't have imagined a
:04:59. > :05:05.future wedded to an Italian firm and its flamboyant boss. Here we are.
:05:06. > :05:08.Sergio Machionne, the smooth talking chief executive of the merged Fiat
:05:09. > :05:17.Chrysler and his plan to steer the company to the future now that has
:05:18. > :05:23.repaid its government loans. Will I do is I think I know how to lead
:05:24. > :05:31.people. Those we have here are phenomenal and they have done
:05:32. > :05:35.extraordinary things. Alfa Romeo's re`entry into the US marked by a
:05:36. > :05:41.recent appearance at this car show, is part of Sergio Machionne's effort
:05:42. > :05:46.to make the brand more distinct. Efforts also include dropping the
:05:47. > :05:51.minivan and investing $7 billion to add eight new models and built Jeeps
:05:52. > :05:58.in China and Brazil. The strategy is to get greater global reach, global
:05:59. > :06:01.scale, by taking existing brands and putting them into markets where they
:06:02. > :06:08.don't already sell or art overly penetrated yet. To be a viable
:06:09. > :06:12.global carmaker, they must raise sales to 7 million each year if it
:06:13. > :06:18.is to compete with Toyota, GM and VW. Last year it saw sales of around
:06:19. > :06:23.4 million cars `` are not overly penetrated yet. Sergio Machionne is
:06:24. > :06:29.confident his plan will achieve the goal. Analysts say he has missed
:06:30. > :06:34.targets before. The latest drive to transform the carmaker started with
:06:35. > :06:38.a new sign unveiled at its Auburn Hills campus in Michigan. The real
:06:39. > :06:46.test will be selling cars that make a profit.
:06:47. > :06:50.As South Africans head to the polls on the 7th of May, the state of the
:06:51. > :06:52.economy is something that many voters are concerned about. They
:06:53. > :06:55.worry about bread and butter issues like jobs, better housing and access
:06:56. > :06:59.to water. In the months leading up to the elections, there's been a
:07:00. > :07:01.wave of protests in the poorer townships where most black people
:07:02. > :07:04.live. These South Africans say that in 20 years of democracy, the
:07:05. > :07:07.country has not delivered on the promises made in 1994. A better
:07:08. > :07:10.performing economy could help to address some of these problems.
:07:11. > :07:16.Lerato Mbele explores some of the issues in this crucial poll.
:07:17. > :07:23.This is a picture of South Africa today. A wave of Rohtaks in the
:07:24. > :07:28.poorest communities. The reasons, almost half the population live in.
:07:29. > :07:34.`` protests. A quarter are unemployed and the economy is
:07:35. > :07:38.growing at only 2%. It is the harsh reality that politicians must face
:07:39. > :07:44.up to in this election. The election is taking place the economy of the
:07:45. > :07:50.country has been slowing down for several years now. Unemployment is
:07:51. > :07:54.high. There has been a lot of social unrest in the form of service
:07:55. > :07:59.delivery protest in in the townships. There have been violent
:08:00. > :08:04.industrial strikes. It has also been a well`publicised scandal around the
:08:05. > :08:09.spend each of government money on the government compound. This has
:08:10. > :08:16.caused outrage are amongst people of all walks of life ``
:08:17. > :08:26.Spenditure. Opposition parties want to capitalise on these failures.
:08:27. > :08:35.Ordinary people are also speaking out. There is a lot of improvement,
:08:36. > :08:39.but I don't think we are benefiting anything, especially from the ruling
:08:40. > :08:43.party. It is just about self`interest. I am hoping that
:08:44. > :08:56.other parties get more representation in government,
:08:57. > :09:00.because I feel the SNP in Parliament needs diversity to get somewhere.
:09:01. > :09:04.This coming at a time when South Africa reflects on the successes and
:09:05. > :09:10.failures of 20 years of democracy. The rise of government corruption
:09:11. > :09:13.undermines these achievements. The African National Congress has been
:09:14. > :09:16.in power since 1994. This is the party that was led by Nelson Mandela
:09:17. > :09:22.and brought to an end of the repressive apartheid regime. Because
:09:23. > :09:27.of the popularity of the ANC, they are expected to win the election.
:09:28. > :09:30.The track record is however patchy. Some voters are willing to take a
:09:31. > :09:35.stand against issues such as rising unemployment, poor quality of
:09:36. > :09:43.education and an increase in government corruption. Our
:09:44. > :09:47.correspondent from Johannesburg. These are the markets in Asia. A
:09:48. > :09:52.rough session today. In Japan, we see the worst day for about four
:09:53. > :09:57.weeks. The yen has strengthened versus the dollar. We have Janet
:09:58. > :09:59.yelling answering questions today, which will be analysed all over the
:10:00. > :10:05.world. `` Yelen.