Alibaba.com, a leading business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce company in China, said late Wednesday its revenue rose 18.6 percent year-on-year to 806.6 million yuan ($118.3 million) in the first quarter, while its net profit dropped 15.7 percent to 253.4 million yuan.

Net profit rose 27.1 percent over the previous quarter, Alibaba said.

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The central bank will continue following a moderately loose monetary policy, its quarterly report said Wednesday, dispelling speculation that the stabilizing economy could prompt it to raise interest rates.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) report said.

"The central bank will continue to ensure ample liquidity in the banking system and reasonably increase loans to fund the economy."

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2009-04-17 -- The Boao Forum

It's an annual event here in China that brings in the best and brightest to discuss what the future holds for Asia.And this year's Boao forum on Hainan Island,of course, comes at a very critical time as Asia,and the rest of the world,tries to figure out what to do to get the world out of this global financial crisis.As such,the theme of this year's Boao Forum is aptly titled "Asia: Managing Beyond Crisis." But this forum raises the larger question of what can Asia do for itself to move out of this economic slowdown?And from a business perspective,what is the expectation for Asia over the near term?

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