[HONG KONG] Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. named a new chief executive officer, nine months after a record initial public offering, as China's biggest e-commerce operator posted a 45 per cent increase in revenue. Daniel Zhang will become CEO on May 10, replacing Jonathan Lu, who will remain on the board as vice chairman, the company said on Thursday. The change was announced as Alibaba's sales rose to 17.4 billion yuan (US$2.8 billion) in the three months ended March, beating analyst estimates. The stock surged pre-market. Alibaba's market value had plunged as much as US$90 billion from a November peak amid concern about slowing economic growth and criticism from the Chinese government about its business practices. Billionaire Chairman Jack Ma elevated Zhang after the chief operating officer helped turn the Nov 11 "Singles' Day" shopping promotion into the company's biggest sales day.