Richard Liu, billionaire founder of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com, has stepped away from day-to-day operations at the company in order to spend more time on long-term strategies and rural development, the company said in a statement, reports the South China Morning Post.
Xu Lei, the chief executive of JD Retail has been promoted to president in Liu’s stead. Liu will remain chairman and CEO of JD.com.
Liu’s move comes after other Chinese tech billionaires have recently stepped down from top positions or shunned the limelight amid Beijing’s regulatory clampdown on the sector.