Major Chinese retailer Alibaba registered record sales during China’s annual Singles’ Day shopping event. According to a press release, in nine hours the company’s revenue jumped 25 per cent, reaching $23bn (£17.9bn, €20.8bn).

Alibaba states that the festive sale kicked off at midnight on November 11, with revenue reaching $12bn in the first hour.

According to the release, in the morning hours the revenue reached $23bn. This is comparable to around two-thirds of online store sales reported in the third quarter by Amazon, Alibaba's main rival in the US.

Last year, Alibaba reported $30bn (£23.4bn, €27.2bn) online sales during Singles' Day, well above Black Friday's $7.9bn (£6.1bn, €7.1bn).

At press time, the gross merchandise volume of the shopping holiday has surpassed that of 2018, going beyond $30bn.

The Singles' Day, also known as "Double Eleven", is one of the major shopping sales events along with Black Friday. It has been promoted by Alibaba chairman and chief executive Daniel Zhang since 2009. During the holiday, celebrated annually on November 11, younger people in China celebrate being single.

In 2019, more than 200,000 brands are participating in the event, according to Alibaba.

Alibaba Group Holding was recently rumoured to be planning an IPO in Hong Kong. The firm reportedly aims to raise as much as $20bn.

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