SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son quits Alibaba board [Video]

TOKYO — SoftBank Group Corp. Chief Executive Masayoshi Son said he would step down as a director of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., bringing to a close a decade and a half of board-level ties between the two Asian technology powerhouses.

Mr. Son's announcement, which he made at the end of SoftBank's annual shareholder meeting on Thursday, follows the resignation — disclosed last month — of Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma from SoftBank's board.

Both resignations are effective Thursday. Mr. Son said the parting of ways was smooth and he hadn't lost confidence in Alibaba, in which SoftBank is the biggest shareholder with a roughly 25% stake.

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"I hope we continue to hold as many Alibaba shares as we can, for as long as we can," Mr. Son told shareholders at a meeting held online in order to prevent spreading the coronavirus.

The resignations loosen ties at the top, even as …