(Yicai Global) Aug. 16 -- The stock price of Alibaba Group Holding has risen after the Chinese tech giant posted better-than-expected profit growth in the first half amid a global economic slowdown as its market-leader cloud computing unit boosted revenue streams while its cross-platform integration strategy worked to attract more users.

Alibaba's equity price [NYSE: BABA] climbed 3 percent yesterday to USD167. In May, the firm's board authorized a share repurchase program to buy USD6 billion worth of its stocks in two years, the Hangzhou-based tech behemoth said in its earnings report released yesterday. 

The company has earlier announced that it is planning a share-split to hammer eight stocks out of each share. The incentive may be to lower a threshold for new investors ahead of a rumored secondary offering in Hong Kong, which the firm has not confirmed.

Alibaba's net profit rose by more than one-half from the previous year to CNY30.9 billion (USD4.4 billion). This report is the last one before founder Jack Ma steps down as chairman in September. Analysts predicted the first-quarter profit to be 19 percent less. The company increased its revenue by 42 percent to CNY114.9 billion (USD16.7 billion), with the market expectation being slightly thinner at CNY111.6 billion.

One of the drivers of growth was cloud computing as the revenue from such services climbed 66 percent to CNY7.8 billion. The unit counts more than one-half of China's mainland-listed companies, as well as 80 percent of Chinese tech firms as its clients, according to the same report.

User numbers were buoyant as the figure of monthly users on Alibaba's platforms, including online retail ones Taobao and Tmall, rose by 56 million from the previous year to 755 million. The turnovers of over 120 brands on Tmall surpassed CNY100 million during the June 18 shopping festival. Alibaba has extended its retail ecosystem by offering delivery services via its Cainiao arm in over 350 Chinese cities as well as opening 150 Hema Fresh online grocery stores.

"Alibaba had a great quarter, expanding our user base to 674 million annual active consumers, demonstrating our superior user experience," Chief Executive Daniel Zhang, who will take up the reins after Ma, said in the report. "With strong cash flow from our core commerce business, we will continue to invest in technology and bring digital transformation to millions of businesses globally."

The company will invest in long-term growth while trimming costs, said Chief Financial Officer Maggie Wu.

Editor: Emmi Laine