Colin Zheng Huang, founder of the high-flying Chinese online shopping company Pinduoduo, is stepping down as chief executive and has reduced his personal stake in the company by roughly $14.3bn.
“I will take a step back from day-to-day management of the company’s operations and work with the relevant teams and the board on our long-term strategy and corporate structure,” Mr Huang said in a statement.
In a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Pinduoduo disclosed that the number of shares held by Mr Huang, either directly or through offshore trusts that he controls, had fallen by 665m since March 31, equivalent to 13.9 per cent of the total shares.