Lashou.com, one of several Groupon copycats in China, has secured US$110 million in additional funding, bringing its total valuation to US$1.1 billion, the Financial Times reported, quoting an announcement by the company. Fierce competition in the Chinese group-buying market has kept Lashou’s gross profit margin at 20-30%, far below the 50% margin recorded by Groupon.com, according to Richard Lim, a founder of GSR Ventures, Lashou’s largest shareholder. But Lim said that Lashou’s growth in its first few months has outpaced its US counterpart: as of last December, Lashou was on pace to record annual revenues of US$150 million, and its revenues were doubling every eight weeks. Including its latest round of external funding, Lashou has raised a total of US$170 million since its launch in March of last year.