BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese retailer Alibaba said on Tuesday sales of its annual shopping festival, known as Singles Day, had exceeded $ 30 billion by 0831 GMT, heading for a record 11th consecutive year.
The figure exceeds 80% of the online store sales of US rival Amazon.com in the latest quarter and mimics Alibaba sales on the same occasion last year.
But analysts say overall sales growth is likely to be the 24-hour event below the previous year, as China's economic growth is heading towards a historic low.
As well as a measure of Chinese consumer sentiment, this year's event also became a promotional event for Alibaba Group Holding, which plans to sell $ 15 billion worth of shares in Hong Kong. US-listed Alibaba has spent a lot to diversify but still earn more than four-fifths of its revenue from e-commerce.
Since 2009, Alibaba President and CEO Daniel Chang has been promoting a bachelor's day, similar to the Black Friday and two Internet in the United States, as a shopping festival, which has grown to become the world's largest online sales event.
Alibaba's net online sales reached $ 30 billion on its various platforms on Singles Day last year, surpassing the total of two Internet $ 7.9 billion. That was 27 percent higher than the previous year, but the smallest increase in the event's 10-year history.