BEIJING -- US retailer giant Wal-Mart said on Friday that it has signed a deal to buy a minority stake in China's emerging online store Yihaodian.

Wal-Mart said the transaction will be closed within 60 days, but the two companies did not reveal the specific volume of the deal.

"Online sales in China are growing rapidly and are projected to match US online sales in the next few years," said a statement from Eduardo Castro-Wright, vice chairman of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and CEO of Walmart Global E-Commerce and Global Sourcing.

"By investing in Yihaodian, we are continuing to establish a presence in this important e-commerce market and are moving forward in fulfilling our aspiration of being the world's leading multichannel retailer," the statement said.

Wal-Mart's "excellent" supply system is expected to help Yihaodian to win a competitive edge in China's e-commerce industry, said a statement by Yu Gang, co-founder and chairman of Yihaodian.

Founded in the city of Shanghai in July 2008, Yihaodian provides a variety of products such as food, cosmetics and consumer electronics.

The website currently has nearly 1 million registered users, and its sales exceeded 800 million yuan (US$123.08 million) last year, according to Yu's statement. Yihaodian plans to reach 6 billion yuan in sales in the next two or three years, according to Yu.