Alibaba Singles' Day sales hit $10 billion in first hour

A screen shows the value of goods being transacted at Singles' Day global shopping festival in China. [Photo: Reuters]

SHANGHAI - 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 percent 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.