(Telecompaper) Chinese e-commerce group Alibaba doubled its net profit in the fourth quarter of 2013, to USD 1.349 billion from USD 642 million a year earlier. The result was reported by its shareholder Yahoo!, which has a 24 percent stake in the Chinese company. Alibaba's revenues rose 66 percent year-on-year to USD 3.058 billion, and operating profit doubled, to USD 1.642 billion. The strong figures are expected to support the case for Alibaba's initial public offering of shares. Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that the Chinese company could file for the IPO in the US as soon as 21 April.