Chinese billionaire Jack Ma to cede control of Ant Group after regulatory crackdown: Report

Chinese billionaire Jack Ma will cede control of fintech giant Ant Group as a part of its ‘restructuring’, the company confirmed the news on Saturday. In a statement, the company said that no shareholder, alone or jointly will have control over the group after the completion of the readjustment. “The adjustment is being implemented to further enhance the stability of our corporate structure and sustainability of our long-term development,” the company in its statement added. 

The company laid out its previous structure which showed that Ma solely had 53.46 per cent of voting rights which will now fall to 6.2 per cent, according to calculations done by Reuters. 

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“As a result, Jack Ma (was) deemed to be the control person of Ant Group prior to the adjustment,” it said.

The move represents another big development following a regulatory crackdown that scuppered Ant’s 37 billion IPO in late 2020 and forced the tech giant to undergo a forced readjustment. 

The Bejing authorities also hit Alibaba, co-founded by Ma, with a record fine of $275 billion for alleged unfair practices. 

Reacting to the news, Andre Collier, Managing Director, Orient Capital Research, Hong Kong said, “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.”

(With inputs from agencies)