Alibaba share price jumps as it appoints new chief executive
Shares in Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba leapt more than 10 per cent in pre-market trading today after it announced it has hired a new chief exec, after months of declines in its share price.
The company – often described as the "Chinese Ebay" – said Daniel Zhang, currently its chief operating officer, will take the reins from Jonathan Lu on Monday.
Although shares in Alibaba rose sharply after its $25bn (£16.4bn) IPO in September, they have since declined, from a peak of $119.15 in November to $80 when the market closed last night.
Today its results restored investor confidence, with sales in the first three months of the year climbing to 17.42bn yuan (£1.8bn), up from 12bn yuan during the same period last year, which smashed forecasts of 16.8bn yuan.
Maggie Wu, the company's chief financial officer, said the results showed Alibaba had performed "very well".
We continue to execute our growth strategy and focus on long-term value creation. The fundamental strength of our business gives us the confidence to invest in new initiatives, add new users, improve customer experience and expand our products and services.