(Yicai Global) Dec.18 -- China's Suning Holdings Group, the parent of online retailer Suning.Com, has pledged to invest no less than CNY40 billion (USD5.7 billion) next year by adding 10,000 new web stores and hiring 8,000 employees.

Suning Holdings will continue to increase its smart retail infrastructure by targeting the areas of technology and logistics, Chairman Zhang Jindong said at the Nanjing-based firm's conference, held to share its 2020 roadmap.

Carrefour China, the controlling stake of which Suning International acquired in September, will open 300 new outlets in big Chinese cities, as well as third-tier ones, over the next five years. It will also team up with the parent's convenience store chain Suning Xiaodian to launch delivery services.

The conglomerate is planning to spin out Suning Xiaodian and Suning Retail Cloud to become independent units, its organizational chart revealed, without disclosing more details. Suning has more than 5,000 Xiaodian outlets across the country, serving more than 120 million clients in hospitals, schools, and transportation hubs. 

In the first nine months of this year, Suning.Com nearly doubled its net profit from a year ago to CNY11.9 billion, its earnings show. Its revenue rose 16 percent to CNY201 billion (USD28.7 billion).

Editor: Zhang Yushuo, Emmi Laine