Chief Financial Officer Maggie Wu is set to step down from her role at Alibaba as the company reorganizes its e-commerce team and announces a new CFO.
The changes come in the face of increasing competition in China, slowing growth, and a plummeting stock price.
Effective 1 April 2022, Toby Xu, currently the deputy chief financial officer, will succeed Maggie, Alibaba said.
On Monday, the company said it would combine its various Chinese e-commerce units into one from next year and form a new international digital commerce team.
The international unit will include AliExpress, its Southeast Asian e-commerce business Lazada, and Alibaba (NYSE:BABA).
Analyst Xiaoyan Wang said, “This could possibly unlock more synergies via cross-selling and integration of supply chain.”
The announcements are in line with Alibaba’s recent broad shift in governance reported in November by The Wall Street Journal.
The Journal further reported the adjustments of Alibaba’s organizational structure to give more power to the heads of each business unit and make the company more agile.
WHAT HAPPENED
The group, founded over two decades ago by Jack Ma, has been under immense pressure since Ma criticized Chinese regulators in a Shangai speech in 2020 that led to the suspension of sister company Ant Group’s blockbuster IPO.
Since the initial public offering was derailed, Alibaba’s U.S. -listed shares have tumbled 64%. Alibaba was also fined a record $2.8 billion for antitrust abuses this year.
In addition, the most recent headwind the stock is facing is rooted in broader concerns that U.S.-listed Chinese companies may be forced, in time to ditch their New York listings amid a tough regulatory environment on both sides of the pacific.
IN CLOSE
On Monday, Alibaba’s Hong-Kong listed stock dropped 5.6%, with the group’s U.S.-listed shares edging up 2% in premarket trading after an 8.2% tumble on Friday.
Shares are trading at their lowest levels since spring 2017, having fallen more than 50% this year.
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