A statement released by Sina on Sunday said Wang had resigned from his post as CEO, president and director of the board out of concern "for his personal interests outside of Sina."

The statement also revealed the portal would cut 15 per cent of its 600-strong work force, or roughly 90 employees, by the end of this month to reduce costs.

Wang Zhidong and Sina spokesperson declined to specify the reasons for Wang's resignation, but sources in Beijing said they thought Wang's resignation could be related to major changes taking place within Sina.com.

According to an unidentified Sina executive, the company has been in talks with Chinadotcom, a Hong Kong-based Internet portal which was listed on the NASDAQ together with Sina, about a possible merger.

The source said Sina's decision to seek a merger with Chinadotcom was made before the June 1 meeting in the United States, at which Wang resigned.

He said one of the factors for the appointment of the new CEO - Daniel Mao - is his experience working for US investment bank Walden. Mao's understanding of capital operations will likely prove helpful in any merger talks.

The Jinan-based Economic Observer also cited a senior source from Chinadotcom who revealed the two companies had reached a co-operation agreement and who said the Internet content department of Chinadotcom would be moved from Shenzhen to Beijing to integrate with that of Sina.

However, both sources said since the two companies were both listed on the NASDAQ, it could take a long time to finish a merger.

A spokeswoman for Chinadotcom said she did not know anything about the so-called merger, adding that such a deal was not "practical."

The Sina spokesperson declined to make any comments on the matter.

Lu Benfu, director of the China Internet Development and Research Centre of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, also described the rumours as impractical.

He explained that Wang's resignation and Sina.com's trimming of its work force could be explained simply as a disagreement between Wang and the board of directors over the dotcom's operations.

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