China auction site Taobao saw transactions double in 2007

SHANGHAI, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Alibaba's online consumer auction firm, Taobao, saw its transaction volume more than double last year, amid rapid growth in China's e-commerce market. Taobao's customer base also soared, reaching 53 million in 2007, up nearly 77 percent compared with the previous year, the company said in a statement late on Monday.

Its transaction volume grew to more than 43.3 billion yuan ($5.99 billion) last year, up 156.3 percent, and putting Taobao at second place behind China's top retailer Bailian Group and in front of China Resources Vanguard, the statement added.

China had 210 million Internet users at the end of 2007, slightly behind the United States, Xinhua news agency reported last week. It cited industry sources who predicted China would have the world's largest online population early this year.

China's e-commerce market hit 59.4 billion yuan in 2007, up over 90 percent from the previous year, Taobao said, citing third-party research.

Alibaba.com (1688.HK: Quote, Profile, Research), which was founded in 1999 by Jack Ma in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, saw its shares rise 122 percent in their trading debut in Hong Kong last November.

Alibaba dominates the business-to-business segment in China. Its unlisted consumer arm includes Taobao, as well as online payments unit Alipay and Yahoo China. ($1=7.234 Yuan) (Reporting by Sophie Taylor, editing by Ken Wills)