Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba enjoyed a 40 per cent rise in sales during its second financial quarter, performing beyond expectations.

Alibaba revenue rose to RMB119.02 billion (US$16.91 billion) in the September quarter, 40 per cent above the RMB85.15 billion ($12.1 billion) during the same period last year, and ahead of projected revenues of RMB116.8 billion ($16.6 billion).

The results reflected leaps in both of the firm’s core businesses – a roughly 40-per-cent jump in e-commerce and a 64-per-cent leap in cloud computing.

Alibaba’s net income attributable to ordinary shareholders hit RMB72.54 billion ($10.32 billion).

Alibaba has been focusing on building its business in lower-tier Chinese cities to counter the effects of saturated markets and the US-Sino trade war.

“Average revenue per user in lower-tier cities is not as low as people imagine,” said Alibaba CFO Maggie Wu. “I think we have addressed very well in our taobao apps different demands and levels of consumers.”