Alibaba has appointed Irene Lee Yun-lien, chairwoman of Hysan Development, and Albert Ng Kong-ping, former chairman of Ernst & Young China, to its board as it seeks to elevate its status on the Hong Kong bourse.
Alibaba said in its annual report that the two companies agreed to terminate their data sharing agreement on July 25, and will instead negotiate on a case-by-case basis. The move away from Ant comes after Alibaba experienced a difficult year, with stagnant revenue growth, capital market risks, as well as national security issues.
The e-commerce giant joins more than 150 Chinese companies that are now on the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s provisional line-up of firms up for delisting.
A week after Singles’ Day last year, analysts asked Alibaba Group Holding chief executive Daniel Zhang Yong if he thought the company relied too heavily on its top live streamers to generate sales during the annual online shopping extravaganza. Zhang did not answer the question directly, but said Alibaba’s Taobao Live platform treated all online influencers – big and small.