(Beijing Comprehensive News) Liu Qiangdong, the founder and CEO of JD.com, made his public statement for the first time after the sexual assault case broke out in Minnesota, USA. He is suspected of retiring from the management team, but JD.com refuted the rumor and said it was fake news.
Comprehensive daily economic news Financial Times and Sina Finance reports, Liu Qiangdong said in a conference call after JD.com’s third-quarter financial report yesterday: Now the management team of the entire JD.com Group has formed and is very stable. My personal focus is mainly on strategy., team, culture and new business.For more mature businesses, our management team can handle them well.
Some media interpreted the above statement as Liu Qiangdong handing over part of the CEO's responsibilities to other members of the company's senior management team, preparing to take a back seat like Alibaba founder Jack Ma.But Jingdong said that this statement is actually a misinterpretation.
When asked about the sexual assault incident in Minnesota, Liu Qiangdong did not respond.Huang Xuande, chief financial officer of Jingdong, said: As you can see, Liu Qiangdong has returned to the company to work normally, and this incident has not affected the company's operations.
But analysts say Liu's arrest has damaged JD.com's reputation and his relationship with Chinese government officials.Li Chengdong, CEO of Dongge Investment, a Beijing technology consulting company, said: Liu Qiangdong's personal problems will affect JD.com's brand image.This incident will also affect the prestige of JD.com's management team - they may not be invited to government meetings again.
The day before yesterday, JD.com released its results for the third quarter of this year, with net revenue reaching 104.8 billion yuan (S$20.7 billion), a year-on-year increase of 25.1%.This is also the first time that JD.com’s year-on-year growth rate has fallen below 30% in nine quarters.JD.com shares have fallen 55 percent since January.
