BEIJING - Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, China's biggest electronic-commerce company, no longer needs Yahoo! Inc because the US partner is moving away from its search-engine technology, the head of Alibaba's listed unit said.

"Why do we need a financial investor with no business synergy or technology?" Alibaba.com Ltd Chief Executive Officer David Wei said in an interview on Friday.

"The biggest thing that has changed is Yahoo lost its own search-engine technology. The biggest reason for such a partnership doesn't exist. Then Yahoo became a financial investor."