Alibaba Singles' Day Sales Generate $12 Bln In First Hour

(RTTNews) - Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA) said that it generated US$12 Billion of gross merchandise volume in the first hour of the 2019 11.11 Global Shopping Festival.

Chinese e-commerce giant, who started the annual Singles' Day shopping Festival at midnight in China, said that gross merchandise volume settled through Alipay reached US$1.0 billion or RMB7.0 billion in the first minute and eight seconds.

In the first hour, GMV settled through Alipay reached US$12.0 billion or RMB84.0 billion, Alibaba said in a statement.

The 11.11 shopping festival began in 2009 with participation from 27 merchants as an event for merchants and consumers to raise awareness about the value of online shopping. More than 200,000 brands are participating in this year's event.