A few days ago, there were rumors that Alibaba's open research institute Luohan Tang was closed. On the evening of October 9, Alibaba publicly responded to the rumor that the organizational relationship, team composition and work focus of Luohan Tang have been adjusted, the digital economy research work and the Luohan Tang research ecology will continue to be carried out by the Luohan Digital Economy Research Institute, and the Luohan Tang brand will continue to exist. At present, the new team and new work are being prepared and promoted.

Luo Han Tang was created in June 2018 by Alibaba founder Jack Ma, who had hoped the institution would exist for 300 years.
The first financial reporter exclusively learned that Chen Long, president of Luohan Tang, chairman of Alibaba's sustainable development Management Committee and president of Alibaba Group's strategic planning, has left Alibaba at the end of September, and he was once the "soul person" of Luohan Tang.
In response to Chen Long's whereabouts, the relevant person in charge of Luo Han Tang responded to the first financial reporter that Chen Long had recently left Alibaba, but would continue to be responsible for the work of Luo Han Digital Economy Research Institute. A source told the first financial reporter that Chen Long will start a business after leaving, but as of press, Chen Long himself did not respond to this.
The last time Chen Long made a public appearance as Alibaba was at the opening ceremony of Fudan University's School of Economics on September 19. Chen Long, a former professor of finance at Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business, shared his own workplace experience, saying at the time: "Most of the people in the world who can think are basically not very grounded, and most of the people in the world who do real work are basically not very thoughtful."
In an attempt to bridge that gap, Mr. Chen said, Arhat Hall was founded in 2018 with the support of Alibaba. "It is a social science community that tries to bring theory and practice together and break down the boundaries of the school, and has seven Nobel Prize winning economists on board." "He said.
Luo Han Tang's strategic change comes after Alibaba's latest personnel changes. Alibaba's new chief executive, Wu Yongming, said in a letter to employees last month that Alibaba would focus on two directions: "user first" and "artificial intelligence driven" as it seeks new growth in the changing Internet landscape.
Since its inception, Luo Han Tang has supported research projects on topics including "Privacy and Data Governance," "Measuring the New Economy," and "Future Finance." As recently as June, Luo held its annual Digital Economy Conference in Hangzhou, bringing together scholars and economists from the United States, Europe and China for two days of discussions under the theme "Exploring the Evolving Digital Future."
At the Luo Han Tang Digital Economy Annual Conference in June 2019, the First Financial reporter interviewed international participants, including Thomas Sargent, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2011. Other partners of the Arhat Hall Conference that year included Alidama Institute and Lakeside University.
Within Ali, the Arhat Hall has a close relationship with the Dharma Academy. The Alidama Institute was established in October 2017. Chen Long has revealed that Alibaba Damo Institute mainly explores cutting-edge technology, but the rapid progress of science and technology will be accompanied by economic and social forms, social governance and other changes, these topics are studied by Luo Hantang. "To put it simply, Dharma Institute is the study of advanced productive forces to solve future problems, and Arhan Hall is the study of the production relations that follow." "He said.
It is also understood that the Arhats Hall and the Dharma Hall are supported by Ant Financial. Ant Financial promised in 2017 to invest 100 billion yuan in Damo Institute for three years to explore cutting-edge technology; The research of Luo Hantang scholars is also supported by Ant Financial.