Jack Ma is giving up control of China’s Ant Group, the firm says | Jack Ma
Jack Ma will relinquish control of Chinese fintech giant Ant Group, the company has announced, following a Communist Party crackdown on the country’s technology sector that targeted the charismatic billionaire.
One of China’s most recognizable entrepreneurs, Ma once exemplified a generation of Chinese tech moguls with his personal history and penchant for public showmanship.
But the former English teacher has retreated from public view since Beijing fired back at Ant’s planned initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong in 2020 following his pointed comments about government regulators.
His company said in a statement on Saturday that it is adjusting its ownership structure so that “no shareholder, alone or together with other parties, will have control over Ant Group”.
Based on the firm’s previously complex structure, the announcement showed that Ma indirectly controlled 53.46% of Ant’s shares and considered him the company’s “controlling person”.
He will have just 6.2% of the voting rights after the adjustment, based on the information in the statement.
“The adjustment is being implemented to further improve the stability of our corporate structure and the sustainability of our long-term development,” the Ant statement said.
Ten people – including the founder, management and employees – would “exercise their voting rights independently”, it said.
The adjustment will not change the financial interests of any shareholders.
Ant’s planned IPO would have been a world record listing at the time, and its damaging withdrawal came as Ma’s other business interests creaked under official scrutiny.
Beijing also hit Alibaba, the Internet titan co-founded by Ma that runs popular Chinese shopping platforms Taobao and Tmall, with a record $2.75 billion fine for alleged unfair practices.
In a sign that the official crackdown may now be loosening, authorities said last month that Ant had received approval to raise 10.5 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) for its consumer finance arm.
An office of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission in the southwestern city of Chongqing will allow the firm to raise its registered capital from 8 billion yuan to 18.5 billion yuan, according to a notice issued on Dec. 30.
News of the approval sent shares in Alibaba up nearly 9% in Hong Kong trading, while other technology firms also strengthened on hopes that the sector’s meltdown could ease.
Alibaba’s latest earnings data in November showed a loss of 20.6 billion yuan for the third quarter. The company did not release full sales figures for its 2022 Singles Day shopping bonanza for the first time.
The online shopping festival is seen as an important gauge of Chinese consumer sentiment, and once saw Ma share the stage with major Chinese and Western celebrities, but has become more muted in recent years.
Ma has kept a lower profile since Ant’s failed IPO, punctuated by appearances at charity events and occasional sojourns abroad. He was in Thailand this week, Bloomberg reported on Saturday.
