JD’s billionaire founder steps down as CEO of US$92bil empire

Signage near JD.com Inc’s offices in Shanghai. Some of China’s richest entrepreneurs have relinquished the reins of their companies in the past two years, after Xi Jinping’s administration trained its sights on arenas from ecommerce to gaming, seeking to curb the growing influence of Internet firms. — Bloomberg

JD.com Inc’s billionaire founder Richard Liu has stepped down as chief executive officer of China’s No. 2 online retailer, joining tech tycoons that exited top management roles after Beijing’s sweeping Internet-sector crackdown.

Xu Lei, who was recently promoted to president after more than a decade at the company, takes the helm of the ecommerce titan effective immediately. Liu’s lieutenant joins JD’s six-member board while Liu remains chairman, the company said in a filing Thursday. Its shares slid as much as 2.9% in early Hong Kong trading.