five other companies have agreed to invest more than $500 million in 360buy.com, China's biggest business-to-customer (B2C) website, the Chinese company said, The New York Times reported Monday.
Richard Liu, 360buy.com's chairman and chief executive officer announced the investment announced the investment on his Chinese microblog last week. Li Jing, 360buy's spokeswoman, confirmed on Monday that Wal-Mart was one of the investors that had pledged a combined $500 million to back the Beijing-based company.
Li declined to disclose the value of the investment by Wal-Mart. She said a formal announcement with more details could be made within weeks.
Kevin Gardner, a spokesman for Wal-Mart, which is based in Bentonville, Ark, said in an e-mail Saturday that the retailer had made no announcement and did not comment on rumors or speculation.
But a big investment in online retailing would not be unusual. Many global retailers, including Gap, are expanding aggressively in China and beginning online selling business. Wal-Mart operates more than 200 stores in China.
The 360buy deal seems likely to feed excitement about China's fast-growing Internet start-ups, the news paper said.
Richard Liu, 360buy.com's chairman and chief executive officer announced the investment announced the investment on his Chinese microblog last week. Li Jing, 360buy's spokeswoman, confirmed on Monday that Wal-Mart was one of the investors that had pledged a combined $500 million to back the Beijing-based company.
Li declined to disclose the value of the investment by Wal-Mart. She said a formal announcement with more details could be made within weeks.
Kevin Gardner, a spokesman for Wal-Mart, which is based in Bentonville, Ark, said in an e-mail Saturday that the retailer had made no announcement and did not comment on rumors or speculation.
But a big investment in online retailing would not be unusual. Many global retailers, including Gap, are expanding aggressively in China and beginning online selling business. Wal-Mart operates more than 200 stores in China.
The 360buy deal seems likely to feed excitement about China's fast-growing Internet start-ups, the news paper said.
