Summary of significant accounting policies (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2016

Summary of significant accounting policies

Schedule of financial information of the VIEs in the PRC

	As of March 31,
	2015		2016
	(in millions of RMB)
Cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments		2,272		3,978
Amounts due from Ant Financial Services		2,741		247
Investment in equity investees and securities		4,018		11,605
Property and equipment and intangible assets		1,353		1,218
Others		3,427		2,698
Total assets		13,811		19,746
Amounts due to WFOEs and other non-VIEs group companies		7,741		12,372
Others		3,679		4,649
Total liabilities		11,420		17,021

	Year ended March 31,
	2014			2015			2016
	(in millions of RMB)
Revenue (i)		6,170			10,457			8,558
Net (loss) income (i)		(587	)		659			35
Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities		(2,642	)		(7,343	)		1,224
Net cash used in investing activities		(1,337	)		(5,502	)		(7,160	)
Net cash provided by financing activities		4,157			13,018			6,494

(i)Revenue and net (loss) income earned and incurred by the VIEs are primarily from the businesses of providing display marketing on the Company's retail marketplaces, cloud computing services as well as mobile media and entertainment services and others.

Schedule of estimated useful lives of property and equipment

	Computer equipment and software		3 - 5 years
	Furniture, office and transportation equipment		3 - 5 years
	Buildings		20 - 50 years
	Leasehold improvements		shorter of remaining lease period or estimated useful life

Schedule of estimated useful lives of identifiable intangible assets

	User base and customer relationships		2 - 6 years
	Trade names, trademarks and domain names		3 - 12 years
	Developed technology and patents		2 - 5 years
	Licenses and copyrights		1 - 5 years
	Non compete agreements		over the contracted term from 2 - 6 years

- Definition

Tabular disclosure of the significant judgments and assumptions made in determining whether a variable interest (as defined) held by the entity requires the variable interest entity (VIE) (as defined) to be consolidated and (or) disclose information about its involvement with the VIE, individually or in aggregate (as applicable); the nature of restrictions, if any, on the consolidated VIE's assets and on the settlement of its liabilities reported by an entity in its statement of financial position, including the carrying amounts of such assets and liabilities; the nature of, and changes in, the risks associated with involvement in the VIE; how involvement with the VIE affects the entity's financial position, financial performance, and cash flows; the lack of recourse if creditors (or beneficial interest holders) of the consolidated VIE have no recourse to the general credit of the primary beneficiary (if applicable); the terms of arrangements, giving consideration to both explicit arrangements and implicit variable interests, if any, that could require the entity to provide financial support to the VIE, including events or circumstances that could expose the entity to a loss; the methodology used by the entity for determining whether or not it is the primary beneficiary of the variable interest entity; the significant factors considered and judgments made in determining that the power to direct the activities of a VIE that most significantly impact the VIE's economic performance are shared (as defined); the carrying amounts and classification of assets and liabilities of the VIE included in the statement of financial position; the entity's maximum exposure to loss, if any, as a result of its involvement with the VIE, including how the maximum exposure is determined and significant sources of the entity's exposure to the VIE; a comparison of the carrying amounts of the assets and liabilities and the entity's maximum exposure to loss; information about any liquidity arrangements, guarantees, and (or) other commitments by third parties that may affect the fair value or risk of the entity's variable interest in the VIE; whether or not the entity has provided financial support or other support (explicitly or implicitly) to the VIE that it was not previously contractually required to provide or whether the entity intends to provide that support, including the type and amount of the support and the primary reasons for providing the support; and supplemental information the entity determines necessary to provide.

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