NQ Mobile's Co-Founder, CEO And Chairman Steps Down From Company

NQ Mobile Inc (NYSE: NQ) announced Wednesday morning that the company's co-founder, Chairman and Co-CEO Dr. Henry Yu Lin has stepped down from the company.

According to the company's press release, Lin stepped down “as he is unable to perform his duties in this capacity due to personal reasons unrelated to the Company.”

NQ Mobile stated that its President Zemin Xu will be appointed to the position of co-CEO and member of the board. Xu will work with the company's other co-CEO Omar Khan.

NQ Mobile's Co-Founder, Chief Operating Officer and acting Chief Financial Officer, Dr. Vincent Wenyong Shi will assume duties as Chairman of the Board.

At the same time, RPL Limited, a substantial shareholder of NQ Mobile which is owned and controlled by Dr. Henry Yu Lin, Dr. Vincent Wenyong Shi and Mr. Zemin Zhou has agreed to an additional two-year voluntary lock-up expiring in December 2016 “as a sign of confidence in the future of the Company.”

"The lock-up by the Founders underscores our strong confidence in the future of NQ Mobile and our commitment to drive NQ Mobile's growth as a leading global provider of mobile Internet services," remarked Dr. Shi. "Henry's need to step down does not take away from our collective belief in NQ Mobile's strong competitive position. Towards this end, we will be meaningfully adding to our position through our share purchase plan."

Shares of NQ Mobile were trading lower by 1.5 percent shortly after Wednesday's opening bell following the announcement. However, shares recovered and were last up 1.66 percent.