China’s Alibaba names CEO Eddie Wu to head its e-commerce business as its growth falters

By ZEN SOO
AP Technology Writer

HONG KONG (AP) — China’s Alibaba Group says its CEO Eddie Wu will head its core e-commerce business, as the company seeks to drive growth and fend off fast-growing online shopping rivals like Pinduoduo. Wu is replacing Trudy Dai, a longtime Alibaba executive who was one of the founding employees of the company. Alibaba’s chairman Joe Tsai said in an internal letter dated Wednesday that Dai will help set up an asset management company aimed at improving returns on capital, to “enhance shareholder value.” The reshuffle came after PDD Holdings Inc., which operates online shopping platform Pinduoduo and U.S.-focused e-commerce site Temu, surpassed Alibaba in market value in the past month.