China's Alibaba Says Profit Down but Growth Firm in e-commerce

Chinese e-commerce site Alibaba.com reported a fall in fourth-quarter net profit as the company raised sales and marketing costs to maintain growth in the economic downturn.
Alibaba's net profit fell by 57 percent from a year earlier to less than 200 million yuan (US$29.3 million) in the last three months of 2008, the company said Thursday.
Chinese and foreign firms trade everything from lumber and heavy machinery to iPods and televisions on Alibaba's Web site.
Revenue still grew as the company launched new value-added services and a discount scheme that boosted signups for its highest membership level. Fourth-quarter revenue was 805.9 million yuan, up 27 percent from a year earlier.
Alibaba also benefited from a rise in the number of firms looking to cut costs by doing business online amid the recession, David Wei, CEO of Alibaba, told reporters at a briefing.
"We believe tough times create new opportunities, at least for e-commerce," said Wei.
E-commerce is the best solution for trading under the global recession.