Chinese e-commerce to hit US$220bn by 2014

A Deutsche Bank report suggests that by 2014, Chinese internet users are expected to rise by nearly 60% to 812 million from more than 420 million currently, while the e-commerce market is estimated to touch US$220 billion. At a 42% compound annual growth rate, the business-to-consumer (B2C) and consumer-to-consumer (C2C) segments are expected to occupy 7.2% of overall domestic retail sales by 2014, the report said. "E-commerce is one of the most exciting subsets within the Chinese internet space," said Alan Hellawell, head of Asian telecommunications, media and technology research at Deutsche Bank, according to China Daily. "We expect this to change significantly as the internet population grows and more consumers turn to the internet for their business and personal consumption needs."