Chinese e-commerce firm Pinduoduo Inc on Wednesday appointed its technology head Lei Chen as its chief executive officer, effective immediately.

The company said its chairman and former Chief Executive Zheng Huang will remain as chairman of the board.

Chen was one of the founding members of Pinduoduo and has served as its technology chief since 2016.

Pinduoduo has been benefiting from a surge in online orders as home-bound customers stock up on groceries and food items, and as sellers also turn to online platforms to run down inventories amid coronavirus-led lockdowns.

(Reporting by Ayanti Bera in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Amy Caren Daniel)