(Yicai Global) July 21 -- Trip.Com Group said the resignation of Robin Li, founder and chief executive officer of Chinese tech giant Baidu, from the online travel agency’s board was a normal personnel change, China News Service-backed media Economic View reported today.

Li, 54, quit as a director at with immediate effect, Trip.Com announced yesterday, without giving a reason for his departure.

He had sat on the Shanghai-based company’s board for the past eight years since Baidu acquired a 25 percent interest in Trip.Com through an equity swap in 2015. Beijing-based Baidu remains its largest shareholder with a 10.7 percent stake.

In the three months ended March 31, Trip.Com had a CNY3.4 billion (USD474 million) net profit compared with a CNY1 billion net loss a year earlier. Operating revenue surged 124 percent in to CNY9.2 billion.

Trip.Com had a 36 percent market share in 2021, according to data from consultants AskCI.Com.

Editor: Martin Kadiev