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Alibaba ex-CEO’s cloud unit exit followed by 4% fall in shares

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After Daniel Zhang, the former CEO of China’s Alibaba Group, abruptly left the company’s cloud computing division on Monday, the company’s Hong Kong-listed shares dropped more than 4%.

In an internal letter to colleagues obtained by Reuters, Alibaba confirmed Zhang’s intention to leave the unit, with co-founder Eddie Wu taking over as interim CEO and chairman. Wu was officially given the position of group CEO on Sunday by Zhang.

According to research firm Canalys, with a 34% market share, the unit is China’s largest cloud provider.

As part of the restructuring of the company, it also contains DAMO Academy, Alibaba’s research division for chips and AI, which is scheduled to be spun off from Alibaba by May of next year.

Zhang had previously been running both the company and the cloud intelligence section simultaneously, and the company stated in June that he would step down from those positions to concentrate only on the cloud business.

Li Chengdong, president of the e-commerce-focused Haitun think tank in Beijing, said Zhang’s departure appeared to be a personal choice and occurred as Alibaba Cloud deals with tougher regulations, increased rivalry from China’s telecom companies, and Huawei Technologies.

“Alibaba Cloud has lost some ground with government and state-owned enterprise clients, which were previously a stronghold for the company,” Li said.

“During his leadership tenure, Alibaba Cloud’s business did not improve significantly despite his efforts. Zhang likely realised that the challenges facing Alibaba Cloud’s lacklustre growth were beyond what he could influence or control as an individual executive.”

Li believes Zhang’s departure will not significantly impact Alibaba Cloud’s listing plans, as it will depend on the unit’s business performance, and Alibaba will continue to execute the spin-off plan under a separate management team.

Union Bancaire Privee’s managing director, Vey-Sern Ling, viewed the move as positive as it would allow Alibaba and the cloud business to start from a “clean slate” and noted macro and geopolitical concerns over China.

In its letter, Alibaba claimed that Zhang would continue to support the company by “channelling his expertise differently” and that it would provide $1 billion to a technology fund that Zhang planned to establish. 

Zhang received an “emeritus” title from Alibaba, for the first time in the company’s history.

According to analysts, the cloud unit is worth between $41 billion and $60 billion, but because of the vast amounts of data it manages, it may come under scrutiny from domestic and foreign regulators.

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Islamic Sukuk Bonds: Government Is Expected To Begin Bond Auction Next Week

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There is now more positive economic news for the people of Pakistan. The government is anticipated to begin the Sukuk Islamic Bond auction next week, after the central bank’s announcement of a large drop in the policy rate.

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SIFC Encourages Green Tourism: Reforming Visas to Increase Investment

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Enhancing investment in the tourism sector, Green Tourism Pakistan’s initiative has received backing from the Special Investment Facilitation Council.

Visa-On-Arrival for 126 countries, Visa-Free Entry for Gulf Cooperation Council nations, and 24-hour expedited visa processing are some of the main features of the Green Tourism Visa Policy.

It is anticipated that these endeavors will draw in about 80 million dollars in foreign direct investment and 8.3 billion rupees in domestic investment.

Green Tourism Private Limited has introduced hunting resorts in Naltar, Hunza, and Skardu, along with four- and five-star city hotels, to improve the tourism experience.

In the first phase of the project, 17 of the 78 areas have seen the start of development activity.

Approved is a central authority for Green Tourism that will supervise the growth of Air Operations.

To promote Religious Tourism, extra precautions have been taken to guarantee the security of visitors from all religions, including Sikhs and Buddhists.

Furthermore, in order to improve the quality of the tourist experience, the green guide quality program has been introduced to supply top-notch tour guides.

There is now a deluxe bus excursion from Islamabad to Peshawar that promotes local culture.

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July 2024 export data from Pakistan shows a significant rise.

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The Strategic Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) has been instrumental in improving Pakistani products’ access to international markets, as seen by the significant surge in exports from the country at the start of the 2024–25 fiscal year.

With a 7.26% rise over the same month the previous year, July 2024 exports to the US were $476.017 million. After increasing by 7.74% annually, the United Arab Emirates emerged as the second-largest export destination.

The third and fourth places were occupied by exports to the UK ($183.303 million) and China ($60.100 million). A substantial increase in exports to Afghanistan was recorded in July of this year, rising from $46.262 million to $88.065 million, largely due to successful anti-smuggling efforts.

With a combined export volume of $553.951 million, more important export destinations included Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey.

A bright future for the national economy is suggested by the growing confidence major international markets have in Pakistani exports. Through the efforts of SIFC and the government, this greater access to global markets has been made possible.

Pakistan’s economy is predicted to remain stable as a result of the export growth that SIFC has enabled.

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