Change in law: China tightens regulation of the tech sector: Now JD.com CEO is also resigning | news

— More and more Chinese founders and CEOs are resigning in the context of the tightening of the law

JD.com Founder and CEO Liu has resigned effective immediately

So far, JD.com has not had to pay any penalties for not complying with the new laws

Step by step, the Chinese government is tightening its laws – also in the areas of antitrust and data protection law. According to dpa-AFX, for example, this means for companies in China that they have to link to the competition on their website. In the middle of last year it became known that the regulations for the approval of Chinese companies abroad are also being revised. This would make it more difficult to go public abroad, which would affect the ability of the companies concerned to raise capital.

Former JD.com CEO Richard Liu now Chairman of the Board

Since then, some founders and CEOs of large Chinese corporations have resigned – it was only on April 7 that JD.com announced a change in management: JD.com CEO Richard Liu had given up his post with immediate effect. Liu founded the e-commerce giant in 1998 and has managed it ever since.

According to the JD.com press release, Liu will remain with the company as CEO, with responsibility for long-term corporate strategy, mentoring junior staff on the management team, and overseeing rural revitalization. The latter, according to CNBC, is a key item on the Chinese government’s agenda.

New CEO speaks highly of Liu

From now on, the previous JD.com President Lei Xu will hold the post of CEO, the group explained in a statement from the beginning of April. He has been employed at JD.com for more than ten years and has worked, among other things, as CEO at JD Retail, as CMO at JD.com, as head of the marketing department and as head of JD Wireless. Commenting on his promotion, the press release said: “Over the past 19 years, Richard has established and maintained a strong foundation for JD’s strategic positioning as a supply chain technology and services provider and do-it-yourself principle for our future endeavors. […] I share his business philosophy and commitment.”

Other founders and CEOs already resigned in 2021

So far, JD.com has not had to pay a fine for not complying with the new laws – unlike the Chinese company Alibaba, which according to CNBC was accused of having built up a monopoly and which had to give up around 2.8 billion US dollars. Those who resigned in 2021 included Colin Huang, founder and (now former) CEO of e-commerce company Pinduoduo, Zhang Yiming, founder and (also former) CEO of ByteDance, and Su Hua, founder of app Kuaishuo.

Olga Rogler / Editor finanzen.net