Jack Ma relinquishes control of Chinese fintech giant Ant Group

Chinese billionaire Jack Ma is relinquishing control of Alipay owner Ant Group. According to The Wall Street Journal, Ant Group, which is affiliated with Alibaba, announced the termination of agreements that had granted Ma significant influence within the company’s corporate governance structure. Despite holding over 50 percent of voting rights at Ant, Ma did not serve on the board of directors or oversee day-to-day operations. His influence over Ant Group was exerted through several investment vehicles with a combined 50.5 percent stake in the fintech giant.

Ant Group stated that Ma, along with nine other company executives and employees, will now possess independent voting rights. Reuters estimates that Ma will retain a 6.2 percent stake in Ant Group once the announced changes are implemented.

In 2020, just before Ant was set to launch an IPO expected to raise a record $34 billion, Ma faced backlash from Chinese authorities for referring to the country’s banks as “state-owned pawnshops” during a speech in Shanghai. As a result, regulators halted the IPO and mandated that Ant refocus on its core business as a payment provider. A year later, Alibaba, Ma’s other company, was fined $2.8 billion following an antitrust investigation into alleged monopolistic practices. Ma has since maintained a low profile.