Alibaba’s Singles’ Day sales hit $30b, on track for record

HANGZHOU, China, Nov 11: Chinese retailer Alibaba Group Holding Ltd said on Monday that sales for its annual Singles' Day shopping blitz crossed the $30 billion mark at 4:31 p.m. (0831 GMT), putting the event on track to set a record in its 11th year.
The figure is equivalent to over 80per cent of US rival Amazon.com Inc's online store sales in the latest quarter and matches takings across Alibaba's e-commerce platforms on Singles' Day last year.
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Sales growth for the full 24-hour event, however, is likely to fall short of the year earlier, analysts said, held back by a slowing overall e-commerce industry in China at a time when the country's economic expansion is heading toward a historic low.
The event tmsnrt.rs/2WTFm7V, a gauge of Chinese consumer sentiment, has also become a shop window this year for Alibaba as the firm plans to sell $15 billion worth of shares in Hong Kong this month. The US-listed firm has spent big to diversify its business yet still earns over fourth-fifths of revenue from e-commerce.    -Reuters