Chinese billionaire Jack Ma relinquished control of Ant Group

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba founder Jack Ma to relinquish control of fintech company after making public appearance in Bangkok AntGroup as part of a restructuring, the company announced on Saturday. Ant Group is the operator of Ali Pay, the digital payment platform largest in the world​.

Ma, one of China’s most famous entrepreneurs, with an atypical career and charismatic personality, leads a generation of tech tycoons in the Asian country.

But this former English teacher withdrew from the public eye after Beijing shut down Ant Group’s Hong Kong listing in 2020, following his scathing comments about government regulators.

The company announced on Saturday that “no shareholder, alone or jointly with any other party, will control Ant Group” once the adjustment is complete.

But he “indirectly” controlled 53.46% of the shares of AntGroup. After the adjustment, it will hold 6.2% of the voting rights, the statement said.

Ten people – including the founder, management and employees – “will exercise their right to vote independently,” the text adds.

“This adjustment is being made to further strengthen the stability of our corporate structure and the sustainability of our long-term development,” he continued.

The agreement will not change the economic interests of the shareholders.

Ant Group, an Asian giant

Ant Group is the operator of Alipay, the world’s largest digital payment platform, with hundreds of millions of monthly users in China and beyond.

Its IPO in Hong Kong, expected in 2020 and estimated at 34,000 million dollars, At the time, it was a record.

The Communist Party launched a crackdown on the country’s tech sector, which targeted Ma, at the time, imposing fines for competition issues and personal data.

In a speech at the Shanghai summit, the tycoon said banks operate with a “pawn shop” mentality and accused financial watchmen of stifle growth.

Angered, Beijing subsequently hit Alibaba, the internet giant co-founded by Jack Ma that operates popular shopping platforms such as Taobao and Tmall, with a record $2.75 billion fine for alleged unfair practices.

However, authorities’ scrutiny may be waning after they indicated in December that Ant had won approval to raise 10.5 billion yuan. ($1,500 million).

An office of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission in Chongqing (southwest) city will allow the company to raise its capital from 8,000 million yuan ($1,171 million) to 18,500 million yuan ($2,708 million), according to a known information dated December 30th.

The news of the approval sent Alibaba almost skyrocketing 9% on the Hong Kong stock marketwhile other tech companies were also prompted by hopes that the crackdown on the sector could ease.

Alibaba’s latest earnings data for November showed a loss of 20.6 billion yuan ($3.894 billion) for the third quarter.

The company first avoided disclosing sales on the famous Singles’ Day.

But it has kept a lower profile since the failed IPO firstmarked by attendance at charity events and occasional stays abroad.