China's markets remained wary ahead of important economic indicators on Friday.

Zhang took the helm of Alibaba Group in 2015 and succeeded Ma as chairman in 2019, a transition amid heightened scrutiny from Chinese authorities.

Earlier this year, he relinquished these roles to two long-standing confidantes of Ma. Zhang's resignation from the cloud division signifies the end of his era at the company.

Concurrently, the return of another trusted Ma associate, Wang Jian, adds a layer to this narrative. 

Wang Jian, who co-founded Alibaba Cloud and departed from the unit a decade ago, has now rejoined as a cloud division's board of directors member.

Industry analysts interpret Zhang's departure as an indicator that Alibaba's restructuring efforts, initiated in March, may have failed to meet initial expectations.

Price Action: BABA shares traded higher by 1.34% at $88.81 premarket on the last check Thursday.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.