Alibaba overtakes Walmart

HANGZHOU, China — Chinese e-retailer Alibaba.com has surpassed Walmart as the world’s largest retailer, filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission reveal. While the company has not yet reported its Q4 earnings, its statement to the regulatory body indicates that it bested the Bentonville, Ark., behemoth’s $482.1 billion revenues for the fiscal year. “With 10 days remaining in our fiscal year ending March 2016, Alibaba’s China retail marketplace platforms surpassed 3 trillion yuan in GMV,” said executive vice-chairman Joe Tsai. “That is about $476 billion and, if the platforms we operate were a province, we would rank as the 6th largest provincial economy in China.” The e-retailer, which accounts for a tenth of all Chinese retail, welcomed the news as evidence that the Chinese retail market, the world’s largest, has shifted to online.