Chinese billionaire Jack Ma will relinquish control of fintech behemoth Ant Group as part of its restructuring,’ the company announced on Saturday. The business stated in a statement that after the adjustments, no stakeholder, alone or jointly, will influence the group. “The adjustment is being undertaken to further enhance the stability of our corporate structure and the long-term development of our organization,” the company said in a statement.
According to Reuters calculations, the company’s prior structure showed that Jack Ma alone had 53.46 percent of voting rights, which will now reduce to 6.2 percent.
“As a result, Jack Ma (was) deemed to be the control person of Ant Group before the adjustment,” it said.
The decision is yet another significant development in the aftermath of a regulatory crackdown that stymied Ant’s 37 billion IPO in late 2020 and forced the internet titan to undergo a forced realignment.
The Chinese government also fined Alibaba, which Jack Ma co-founded a record $275 billion for alleged unfair practices.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Ant alerted regulators of Ma’s desire as the company prepared to become a financial holding company supervised by China’s central bank.
“Jack Ma’s departure from Ant, a company he founded, shows the determination of the Chinese leadership to reduce the influence of large private investors. This trend will continue the erosion of the most productive parts of the Chinese economy,” remarked Andre Collier, Managing Director of Orient Capital Research in Hong Kong, in response to the news.
Earlier this week, Alibaba’s annual report revealed that Ant executives are no longer members of the Alibaba Partnership, a body that can designate the bulk of the e-commerce giant’s board of directors, as the two decouple following Beijing’s crackdown.
