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Alibaba ex-CEO’s cloud unit exit followed by 4% fall in shares

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After Daniel Zhang, the former CEO of China’s Alibaba Group, abruptly left the company’s cloud computing division on Monday, the company’s Hong Kong-listed shares dropped more than 4%.

In an internal letter to colleagues obtained by Reuters, Alibaba confirmed Zhang’s intention to leave the unit, with co-founder Eddie Wu taking over as interim CEO and chairman. Wu was officially given the position of group CEO on Sunday by Zhang.

According to research firm Canalys, with a 34% market share, the unit is China’s largest cloud provider.

As part of the restructuring of the company, it also contains DAMO Academy, Alibaba’s research division for chips and AI, which is scheduled to be spun off from Alibaba by May of next year.

Zhang had previously been running both the company and the cloud intelligence section simultaneously, and the company stated in June that he would step down from those positions to concentrate only on the cloud business.

Li Chengdong, president of the e-commerce-focused Haitun think tank in Beijing, said Zhang’s departure appeared to be a personal choice and occurred as Alibaba Cloud deals with tougher regulations, increased rivalry from China’s telecom companies, and Huawei Technologies.

“Alibaba Cloud has lost some ground with government and state-owned enterprise clients, which were previously a stronghold for the company,” Li said.

“During his leadership tenure, Alibaba Cloud’s business did not improve significantly despite his efforts. Zhang likely realised that the challenges facing Alibaba Cloud’s lacklustre growth were beyond what he could influence or control as an individual executive.”

Li believes Zhang’s departure will not significantly impact Alibaba Cloud’s listing plans, as it will depend on the unit’s business performance, and Alibaba will continue to execute the spin-off plan under a separate management team.

Union Bancaire Privee’s managing director, Vey-Sern Ling, viewed the move as positive as it would allow Alibaba and the cloud business to start from a “clean slate” and noted macro and geopolitical concerns over China.

In its letter, Alibaba claimed that Zhang would continue to support the company by “channelling his expertise differently” and that it would provide $1 billion to a technology fund that Zhang planned to establish. 

Zhang received an “emeritus” title from Alibaba, for the first time in the company’s history.

According to analysts, the cloud unit is worth between $41 billion and $60 billion, but because of the vast amounts of data it manages, it may come under scrutiny from domestic and foreign regulators.

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Pakistan’s gold prices are still declining; see the most recent

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The price of 10-gram gold reduced by Rs943 to settle at Rs207,733, while the price of gold dropped by Rs1200 to close at Rs242,300 a tola, according to the Sindh Sarafa Jewellers Association.

In the global market, the price of the precious metal fell by $10 to $2,349 per ounce, resulting in losses.

At 04:48 GMT, the spot price of gold had dropped by 0.2% to $2,354.77 per ounce. In the previous session, prices reached a two-week high.

American gold futures dropped 0.6% to $2,361.

Spot silver decreased by 0.4% to $28.03 per ounce, while palladium remained steady at $978.03 and platinum decreased by 0.1% to $992.89.

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Pakistan and the IMF begin talks for a new loan.

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Pakistan is requesting a $6 to $8 billion bailout package from the international lender over the next three to four years to address its financial troubles.

A mission team led by Nathan Porter, the IMF’s Mission Chief in Pakistan, is meeting with a Pakistani delegation led by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb.

According to sources familiar with the situation, Islamabad may face more difficult options, such as raising power and gas bills.

Mr. Aurganzeb informed the IMF team that the country’s economy has improved as a result of the IMF loan package, and Islamabad is ready to sign a new loan programme to further develop.

The IMF mission expressed satisfaction with Islamabad’s efforts to revive the country’s struggling economy.

The IMF praised Pakistan’s economic growth in its staff report earlier this week, but warned that the outlook remains challenging, with very high downside risks.

The country nearly avoided collapse last summer, and its $350 billion economy has stabilized since the end of the last IMF program, with inflation falling to roughly 17% in April from a record high of 38% last May.

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Petrol prices are likely to drop significantly beginning May 16.

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According to sources, the government is set to decrease petrol prices by Rs 14 per litre and diesel prices by Rs 10 on May 16 for the next fortnight’s revision.

Last month, the government reduced the price of fuel and high-speed diesel by Rs5.45 and Rs8.42 per fortnight, respectively.

The current fuel price is Rs288.49 per litre, while the HSD price is Rs281.96.

Meanwhile, oil prices fell further on Monday, as signs of sluggish fuel consumption and comments from U.S. Federal Reserve officials dimmed optimism for interest rate reduction, which may slow growth and reduce fuel demand in the world’s largest economy.

Brent crude prices down 25 cents, or 0.3%, to $82.54 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 19 cents, or 0.2%, to $78.07 per barrel.

Oil prices also declined on signals of poor demand, according to ANZ analysts, as gasoline and distillate inventories in the United States increased in the week before the start of the driving season.

Refiners throughout the world are dealing with falling diesel profitability as new refineries increase supply and warm weather in the northern hemisphere and weak economic activity reduce demand.

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