China's Alibaba records 'singles day' sales of $8bn in 10 hours

E-commerce company set for record sales in what has become the world's biggest online retail promotion

Shoppers spent nearly $8bn in the first 10 hours of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba's "singles day" event on Wednesday, the company said, reinforcing its status as the world's biggest online retail promotion.

Total gross merchandise volume, a measure of sales, reached 50bn yuan ($7.86bn) at 9.52am, it said on its website, after the promotion began at midnight.