(Telecompaper) Alibaba said revenue growth for its fiscal year to end March 2017 will accelerate, Bloomberg reported following a press event, noting this was the company's first financial forecast since going public in 2014. The company sees revenues rising least 48 percent as it pushes into new markets and businesses beyond e-commerce. Part of that growth comes from Alibaba's rapid deal-making: it spent about USD 18.7 billion on acquisitions and stock buybacks over the past year, including on e-commerce site Lazada Group. Revenues should rise more than 36 percent this year if revenue from Lazada and streaming video service Youku Tudou are excluded, CFO Maggie Wu said during an investor conference Tuesday. That compares with 33 percent growth the previous year. Analysts were expecting 40 percent revenue growth on average for fiscal 2017.