LAHORE: Alibaba Group broke all records at the Singles’ Day event on Saturday, generating record sales of $ 25.3 billion (168.2 billion yuan). The e-commerce giant processed over 256,000 transactions per second as buyers hunted for discounts. The event saw Alibaba working with more traditional retailers this year to market discounted products from lobster to iPhones and refrigerators to shoppers from at least 225 countries and regions.
According to Trade Development Authority Of Pakistan, total exports in July-June 2016-17 accounted for $ 20.44 billion. Whereas the trade deficit has further surged 31.24 per cent to $ 12.129 billion in the first four months of the current fiscal year, whereas imports continue to increase, by 22.55 per cent, to $ 19.189 billion in July-Oct 2017-18.
Despite various efforts of the government, the trade deficit does not seem to be reducing anytime soon. Meanwhile, Alibaba posted a 39 per cent increase in sales, exceeding Citigroup Inc estimates and defying concerns of an economic slowdown.