After a regulatory crackdown, Jack Ma, the billionaire founder of Ant Group, will give up control of the Chinese fintech giant. Ant Group stated that no one would have complete control following the change.
Since 2020, when he criticized China’s financial sector, Jack Ma has rarely been seen in public. Before that, he was a flamboyant man. Ant Group’s planned stock market flotation was abruptly halted as a result of that criticism. Alipay is the primary online payment system in China, surpassing cash, checks, and credit cards. It is operated by the Ant Group.
More than fifty percent of Ant Group is directly or indirectly controlled by Jack Ma, a former English teacher who established the e-commerce giant Alibaba. However, Jack Ma will control just over 6% of the company following the governance structure changes, according to an Ant Group statement.
Ant’s 26 billion pounds stock market flotation, which would have been the largest in the world in November 2020, was called off at the last minute. Chinese authorities cited major issues regarding the company’s regulation at the last minute.
Some analysts interpreted it as an effort by the Chinese government to subdue a company that had grown too powerful and a leader who had become too outspoken. Jack Ma had stated at a financial conference that traditional banks had a “pawn-shop” mentality prior to the regulatory intervention.
Additionally, Jack Ma also praised the advantages of the digital banking system and emphasized that data, not collateral, should be the basis for future lending decisions.
