Alibaba Founder Jack Ma Cedes Control Of Sister Fintech Firm Ant Group
Chinese billionaire Jack Ma will no longer control Ant Group, the fintech firm he founded, after the company reorganized its share structure to “align the voting interests of shareholders with their financial interests,” according to a company statement. Ma is also the founder of Ant Group’s sister company, the retail giant Alibabaalthough he stepped down from his leadership role at that company in 2019.
While Ma has no executive role in Ant and does not sit on the board, he had more than 50% of voting rights before the restructuring. Now with the shareholder adjustments, CNN estimates that Ma’s voting rights have been reduced to 6.2%. Ant Group also said that Ma and its nine other major shareholders had agreed no longer act jointly when they exercise their right to vote and will only vote independently going forward.
“No shareholder will, alone or together with another shareholder, have the power to control the outcome of Ant Group’s general meetings,” the company said in a statement. “No shareholder will have the power to nominate the majority of Ant Group’s board. Therefore no shareholder, alone or together with other parties, will have control over Ant Group.
“As a result of the adjustment, the ownership structure of Ant Group will be more transparent and diversified, which will facilitate the steady development of the company,” the statement continued. “The adjustment will not affect the day-to-day operations of Ant Group. We will continue to serve the real economy by leveraging digital technology, implementing our sustainable development strategy, optimizing our corporate governance, investing in cutting-edge technologies and creating greater value for society.”
The shift in power comes after a series of setbacks for the financial firm, part of the Chinese government’s crackdown on the technology industry – which Ma has been a central focus of. In November 2020, Chinese regulators pulled the plug on Ant Group’s planned IPO and ordered the company to restructure its operations. Since then, Ant Group has taken a number of steps to comply with the authorities’ requirements, including increasing the number of independent directors on the board and applying for an extension of the registered capital from 8 billion yuan (approx 1.2 billion dollars) to NOK 18.5 billion yuan (approx 2.7 billion dollars), which was approved earlier this month.
The Hang Seng Tech Index rose 3.2% Jan. 9 — led by gains at Alibaba — following news of Ant’s restructuring and comments from a central bank official indicating the crackdown on China’s tech sector is coming to an end.
