SHANGHAI, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Chinese online group discounter Pinduoduo Inc. (PDD) said on Sunday that the company plans to expand hiring by providing 3,500 job openings in 2019.

The newly added positions consist of marketing specialists, agricultural and anti-poverty experts, data analysts, technical engineers, operational staff and specialists for round-checks. They are about to meet the needs of PDD's future business infrastructure construction and technological innovation.

Five hundred marketing specialists on the new brand plan will explore the potentials of high-quality factories in major industrial belts around the country.

The company will expand its workforce of 160 people to 700 in the "agricultural products up-going" project by the end of 2019, further enhancing the direct links between cities and farms.

PDD will employ 2,000 technical engineers and 500 inspection staff this year, together with another 2,000 subcontracted customer service representatives.

According to the company, more than one million jobs will be created in agricultural production areas and industrial zones under its new 2019 development plan.

Founded in 2015, Pinduoduo is known for offering group buying deals with big discounts and enjoys a huge consumer base in rural areas and small cities.

The Nasdaq-listed company reported a robust order growth of over 158 percent to about 11.1 billion on its mobile app in 2018, with gross merchandise volume totaling 471.6 billion yuan (about 70.3 billion U. S. dollars), up about 234 percent compared with 2017.