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Jack Ma, the Chinese business magnate, investor and philanthropist, is reportedly planning to give up his control of Ant Group. This plan is said to be under consideration for a long time now as it is one way to reduce governance risks.
The report comes just as the Ant Group is seeking to move on from a turmoil-filled year and proceed to work on getting the business back on track. The Wall Street Journal reported that the billionaire may step down, and this was disclosed by people who are familiar with the matter.
The move is also said to be part of Ant Group’s effort to stand aside from Alibaba Group Holding after more than a year of extraordinary pressure from China’s trade regulators. It can be recalled that the Chinese authorities cancelled Ant Group’s IPO plans in 2020 at the last minute and proceeded to force the company to reorganize as a financial holding company that will be regulated by the country’s central bank.
Now, as the restructuring process is ongoing, Ant Group is taking this chance to minimize its reliance on the 57-year-old Alibaba founder, who was a former English teacher and rose to become one of the most successful businessmen in China. As his empire continued to expand, Ma became a target of government operations that seem to have been configured to lessen the power and influence that his companies had on the country.
It was mentioned that if Ant Group successfully went public two years ago, it would have been valued at more than $300 billion. At any rate, Bloomberg reported that Ma may not have an executive position at Ant Group, and he may not have a seat on its board either. However, he is still a dominant figure in the company since he also currently holds 50.52% of its shares.
Finally, Jack Ma can give up the control he still has on Ant Group if he transfers some of his voting power to other company officials. For instance, he can choose to pass on this voting right to Ant’s chief, Eric Jing, and later on, they can collectively control the firm.
