China's e-commerce transactions reach $31b in first half

The value of China’s e-commerce transactions reached US$31 billion in the first half of 2010, state media reported. A report from Alibaba (parent of Alibaba.com; 1688.HK) said that e-commerce transactions more than tripled between 2007 and 2009, while overall retail sales increased an average of 18% per year. The report said 142 million people, one-third of China’s online population, bought items on the internet in the first half of the year. Data from the Ministry of Commerce showed e-commerce grew 22% year-on-year last year to US$561.3 billion. State media also said that e-commerce created 1.3 million jobs in China last year.