Ma moves to shore up treasure chest

ALIBABA chair Jack Ma admitted to once saying: “There’s nothing to fear but a CFO pretending to be a CEO.”

But a chief financial officer in charge may be just what Alibaba Group needs as Daniel Zhang takes the helm at the Chinese company.

By naming Zhang, who replaces Jonathan Lu as CEO, Alibaba is signalling that it is focused on fundamentals as it reconciles with as much as $90-billion (about R1-trillion) in lost market value over the past six months.

Zhang, 43, joined the company’s Taobao Marketplace as chief financial officer eight years ago and became chief operating officer of Alibaba in 2013.

Known for his quiet and calm demeanour, he helped to build Alibaba’s e-commerce platforms and invented Singles Day, the November 11 shopping promotion that leads to the biggest sales day for the company and now extends to other Chinese companies.

The appointment comes at a pivotal time. Alibaba is contending with a slowing Chinese economy and increased competition from other e-commerce providers.

The company announced a hiring freeze last week, saying it is intended to spur innovation and efficiency.

In January, the Chinese government issued a white paper accusing Alibaba’s malls of accepting bribes and peddling knockoffs — a characterisation the company has strongly objected to.

These factors have sent Alibaba’s shares plummeting.

The good news for Zhang is that investors like what they saw on Thursday. Alibaba’s share rose nearly 8% in New York trading after the fourth-quarter results announcement. —