JD.com offers no update on founder Richard Liu’s US case amid weak earnings
- The Beijing-based e-commerce company’s third-quarter revenue growth was the slowest since it went public in 2014
JD.com founder Richard Liu Qiangdong, who was arrested and then released in the US in August after being accused of rape, provided no update on the case in the e-commerce company’s first quarterly results since that incident.
In a conference call before the US market opened on Monday, it seemed business as usual for Liu, who has maintained a low profile in China since his arrest on August 31, as he fielded questions from analysts, saying his personal focus was on “strategy, culture, team and new businesses”.
When Wendy Huang, the head of Asian internet and media research at Macquarie Group, asked for new information about the US case, it was another executive who answered the question.
“We really do not have any new information to share with you,” said Sidney Huang, JD.com’s chief financial officer. “And honestly, we cannot further comment, because it is important that we respect the due process of the US justice system.”
Huang emphasised that the US case “did not and was not expected to have any material impact” on Nasdaq-listed JD.com.