Jack Ma, chairman of Alibaba Group, waving hands with actress Nicole Kidman during a gala in Shanghai to mark the company’s Singles Day promotions — Reuters SHANGHAI, Nov 11 (Reuters): Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd settled roughly 69 billion yuan ($9.92 billion) in the first hour of its annual Singles' Day on Sunday, up roughly 21 per cent from last year's early haul of 57 billion yuan.
Singles' Day is the world's biggest online sales event and last year netted Alibaba 168 billion yuan ($24.15 billion) in total sales. A disproportionately large number of sales are recorded in the first minutes of the 24-hour spending spree, when transactions are recorded for items that have been put on hold.
Alibaba kicks off the annual event with a gala, which this year featured US singer Mariah Carey, a Japanese Beyonce impersonator and a shoe-shopping-themed Cirque du Soleil performance.
It's expected to be the company's final November sale event with founder and chairman Jack Ma at the helm. Current chief executive Daniel Zhang will take over as chairman next year, the company said in September.
While sales growth remains steady, Alibaba's stock has dropped 16 per cent this year amid economic uncertainties linked to brewing trade tensions between China and the United States.
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