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BEIJING, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com reported steady revenue growth in the third quarter (Q3) of this year as the company steps up penetration in lower-tier cities.

The company raked in 134.8 billion yuan (about 18.9 billion U.S. dollars) in net revenue in Q3, up 28.7 percent from one year ago, according to JD.com's unaudited financial results released Friday.

JD.com's net service revenue surged 47 percent year on year to reach 16 billion yuan during this period.

Annual active customer accounts increased to 334.4 million in the 12 months ending on Sept. 30, 2019. In Q3, over 70 percent of new customers were from lower-tier cities.

JD.com officially launched its social e-commerce platform Jingxi in September as part of its strategy to penetrate into lower-tier cities.

"We will continue to invest in technology and innovation to meet the growing needs of Chinese consumers and businesses for fast and reliable e-commerce and supply chain solutions," Richard Liu, chairman and CEO with JD.com, said in a statement.

The company expected its Q4 net revenue to be between 163 billion yuan and 168 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year growth rate between 21 percent and 25 percent.