Alibaba to become top taxpayer among Internet firms

China's largest e-commerce vendor Alibaba Group Holding paid 7 billion ($1.16 billion) yuan in taxes in 2013, becoming the country's top taxpayer among Internet players.

Daily payment has doubled to 20 million yuan in 2013 from 2012, according to an e-mail from chairman Jack Ma to his employees.

Alibaba has risen to become the second-largest corporate taxpayer in China's affluent Zhejiang province, following State-backed Zhejiang Tobacco bureau.

"It is quite encouraging and inspiring to pay more than 20 million yuan in tax on a daily basis," Ma wrote.

Ma said the company experienced its "best year" in terms of revenue in 2013, and spearheaded the online finance wave that triggered an industry-wide reshuffle.

He said he was also pleased to launch the Laiwang mobile chatting app, which is designed to "end the monopoly" of Tencent's WeChat.

However, he alerted the many challenges derived from technological upgrades and warned his staff members to remain innovative.

"We cannot afford to neglect the fast-changing era and should avoid the year 2013 to slip into the last profitable year at the expense of our own idleness," Ma wrote.

Alibaba has held the annual Nov 11 shopping spree since 2009, and sales this year reached 35 billion yuan.