Its homepage may appear staid and plain, but the backend technology running Chinese classified information website 58.com is ramping up for new growth as it makes a new hire.

The company last week announced the appointment of Xing Hongyu as new chief technology officer.

In the new role, Xing will be responsible for the development of the technical strategic direction and technical innovation of 58.com, Ganji.com, and Anjuke.com; meanwhile, he will also lead the planning, management, and assignment of the group's research and development resources.

Xing graduated from the electronic engineering department of Tsinghua University with a Master's degree. After graduation, he worked for IBM China research and development center. From 2005 to 2015, Xing worked for Tencent and he officially joined 58.com in 2015.

58.com said that this is the first time for the company to appoint a CTO. This move is expected to accelerate their product technology innovation, promote internal efficiency improvement, and support the fast development of various business groups.