China's Alibaba has made more than $3.9bn (£2.bn) in sales in the first hour of Singles' Day in China, the world's biggest online shopping event.

The figure is almost double the $2bn spent in the same time period of the retail giant's sales event last year.

Singles' Day, also known as "Double Eleven" because its held on 11 November, has become a major annual event for Chinese retailers.

Alibaba said more than $1bn was spent within the first eight minutes.

Read more: Why China's big brands are cashing in on singles

In the latest update on its news website Alizila, the company said that its gross merchandise volume (GMV) had hit $6.5bn.

That is already more than half the record amount of $9.3bn in sales it made last year, putting it on track to create new record.

In comparison, sales on Cyber Monday, which is the biggest online shopping day in the US, hit $1.35bn, according to ComScore.