Growth concerns rise for Alibaba

Lower first-quarter earnings cast shadow on prospects for IPO

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, China's e-commerce conglomerate, disclosed in an updated filing on Monday that quarterly revenue growth slipped to its slowest pace in six years, amid concerns that the development may cast a shadow on its highly anticipated initial public offering in the United States.

The Hangzhou-based e-commerce giant reported lower revenue growth of 39 percent year-on-year between January and March in its revised filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday. The company's growth rate was 71 percent in the same quarter last year. Operating margins narrowed to 45 percent from 51 percent in the previous year. The group's revenue during the first quarter was 12 billion yuan ($1.92 billion).