China's e-commerce giant Alibaba said on August 17 that its net profit jumped 96 percent to more than 14 billion yuan ($2.1 billion) year on year in the first fiscal quarter ending June.

The group's revenue was about 50 billion yuan ($7.4 billion) in the quarter, up 56 percent year on year, Alibaba said.

Meanwhile, the annual number of active buyers on its retail platform in China climbed to 466 million, accounting for about one third of China's population.

The number of active monthly users on its mobile platform reached 529 million, 22 million more than March 2017.

"Alibaba had a strong start to fiscal 2018, reflecting the strength and diversity of our business and the value we bring to customers on our platforms," said Daniel Zhang, Alibaba CEO. "Our technology is driving significant growth across our business and strengthening our position beyond commerce."

(Xinhua News Agency August 17, 2017)