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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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February 7, 2025: The value of the Pakistani Rupee (PKR) in relation to the US dollar is unchanged.

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KARACHI: The open market exchange rate between the US dollar and the Pakistani rupee (PKR) was Rs279.4 on February 07, 2025, with a selling rate of Rs281.1. The interbank exchange rate between the US dollar and the Pakistani rupee is Rs 278.45, according to Interbank.

There was no movement in the US dollar (USD) from the previous closure of Rs278.

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The NORINCO Group is invited by CM Sindh to explore opportunities.

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Chinese companies have been invited by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah to visit Karachi and other regions of Sindh Province in order to observe the quickly growing businesses and investigate prospects in fields like clean energy, infrastructure development, and public transit projects.

Speaking in Beijing to a delegation headed by the chairman of NORINCO International Co., Ltd., he stated that all facilities required would be provided by the governments of Sindh Province and Pakistan.

With assistance from NORINCO International, the Sindh Chief Minister stated that the Provincial Government will firmly urge North Vehicle and BeiBen to think about setting up a Vehicle Assembly Plant in the Dhabeji Special Economic Zone.

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A deal with Pakistan to fight financial crimes has been approved by the Saudi cabinet.

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In order to strengthen collaboration in the fight against money laundering, terrorist financing, and associated crimes, the Saudi Press Agency announced this week that the Saudi cabinet, led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, had approved a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Pakistan’s Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU).

Due to its severe money laundering and terrorism funding issues in recent years, Pakistan was added to the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) grey list in June 2018.

The nation was taken off the gray list in October 2022 after enacting extensive measures to fortify its financial system.

The FMU is Pakistan’s financial intelligence unit, created under the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2010 and tasked with collaborating with foreign partners and evaluating reports of suspicious transactions.

According to the SPA, “the cabinet approved a memorandum of understanding regarding cooperation in exchanging investigations related to money laundering, terrorist financing, and related crimes between the Financial Monitoring Unit in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the General Department of Financial Investigation at the Presidency of State Security in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

The MoU is an indication of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan’s growing strategic partnership. A significant Pakistani diaspora resides in the Kingdom, and numerous Pakistani businesses have established a presence there.

Saudi Arabia has been a key supporter of Pakistan’s economy, bolstering its reserves with substantial deposits in the State Bank of Pakistan and offering deferred oil payment facilities.

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