Chinese hypermarket operator Sun Art Retail Group Ltd. said Jan. 30 that it has appointed Zhang Yong and Chen Jun to its board, following the resignation of Huang Ming-Tuan and Cheng Chuan-Tai.
Zhang, who has been the CEO of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. since 2015 as well as a member of its board, will serve Sun Art as a nonexecutive director and company chairman. He has entered into a service agreement with the operator for a three-year term, effective Jan. 30. He will not receive any remuneration as a nonexecutive director, the company said.
Chen, who is also an Alibaba executive, will be a nonexecutive director and a member of Sun Art's nomination and remuneration committees. Similar to Zhang, he will enter into a service agreement with the company for a three-year term, effective Jan. 30. He will also not receive any remuneration as a nonexecutive director. Chen is an Alibaba vice president, managing director of the e-commerce giant's strategic investment group and investment head of its retail fund.
Sun Art also disclosed that both Zhang and Chen have not held any appointments or other positions within the hypermarket chain. In addition, neither executive has had any relationship with any Sun Art director, senior management staff or shareholder, nor are they interested in any of the company shares.
While Huang has stepped down from his post as Sun Art's executive director, he will stay as a member of the investment committee, operations committee and disclosure committee.
In contrast, Cheng has resigned as a nonexecutive director as well as chairman of the board. He will no longer be a member of the company's audit committee, nomination committee and remuneration committee.
Sun Art said that both directors have no disagreements with the board, adding that there are no concerns regarding their resignations that need to be reported to shareholders or to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
In November 2017, Alibaba agreed to buy an aggregate direct and indirect 36.16% stake in Sun Art for HK$22.4 billion.
