Jd.com sales to top 100b yuan for first time

Jd.com, a leading e-commerce site in China, is set to exceed 100 billion yuan ($16.47 billion) in annual sales for the first time in a market that has drawn investment from global retailing powers such as Amazon and Wal-Mart.

Sales volumes will likely eclipse the company's target of 100 billion yuan compared with 60 billion yuan in 2012, the company said in a press release on Monday.

The smaller rival of China's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd also said it has broken even for the first three quarters of the year and may turn profitable at any time, but declined to be more specific.

China's business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce sales may surpass $180 billion this year due to a rising Internet penetration rate, expanding middle class incomes and a steadily improving distribution network, according to New York-based market research firm eMarketer.

The country's e-commerce prospects have attracted investment from Wal-Mart, which now owns roughly 51 percent of Chinese online marketplace Yihaodian. Amazon bought e-tailer joyo.com in 2004, which eventually became Amazon China.

"The market itself is growing, we're also growing our market share," jd.com's Chief Operating Officer Shen Haoyu said Monday. "People are getting more comfortable with buying online."

As a private company, jd.com does not release revenue figures, and would not say if it broke even in previous years.

Jd.com, previously known as 360Buy, has done well enough to attract some foreign investors.

Over the past six years, it has secured $2.23 billion from investors including the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal's Kingdom Holding Co, using these funds to expand its logistics network and employ aggressive pricing tactics.

But despite its fast growth, jd.com still stands in the shadow of its main B2C competitor, Alibaba's Tmall, which dominates 51.1 percent of the market, according to Chinese Internet market research firm iResearch.

Jd.com has 17.5 percent and Amazon China controls just 2.6 percent, according to iResearch.

Jd.com has tried to differentiate itself by operating its own network of couriers and warehouses, a factor it says ensures timely and efficient delivery. Alibaba's Tmall and Taobao still depend on merchants and external courier firms for their logistics.

Jd.com was valued at $7.3 billion in late 2012 after a round of financing. At the time it denied reports it was planning an IPO before 2013.

On Monday, Shen said Jd.com does not have specific plans for an IPO.

"The company will pick the right time for IPO. We'll consider the market situation, we'll consider the company's situation. At this point we don't have specific plans," he said.