ALIBABA Group, China's largest e-commerce company, saw earnings more than triple to US$680 million in the first quarter, making it the most profitable Chinese Internet company as its popular online shopping sites kept attracting vendors and shoppers.

Revenue jumped 71 percent to US$1.38 billion in the three months ended March 31, according to an earnings report released by Yahoo yesterday.

Tencent, China's largest Internet company in terms of market value, saw profit of US$657 million in the first quarter.

Yahoo holds about 24 percent stake in Alibaba Group.

The Hangzhou-based private company's businesses cover business-to-consumer operations as well as consumer-oriented shopping platforms.

The group's chief executive officer Jonathan Lu, who took over the post from founder and chairman Jack Ma in May, said earlier this month that the company is ready for an initial public offering but he didn't give a timetable.