Chinese tech billionaire Jack Ma is no longer in charge of Ant Group, the payment company of e-commerce group Alibaba, which he founded. The 58-year-old entrepreneur has relinquished his voting majority in a restructuring of the share structure, according to a statement published on Saturday by Ant Group. Before the changes, Ma owned 50.2 percent of the company’s voting rights, now it is according to financial news agency Bloomberg another 6.2 percent.
With the choice, Ma retreats even further, after being in the spotlight for a long time as one of the richest men in China. In recent years, the Chinese government has left hardly any resources untouched to limit the power of the Chinese tech industry. One of the earliest victims was Ma. He had previously been critical of China’s financial sector and subsequently came under strict government regulation.
First of all, he had to call an end to Ant Group’s IPO, which was expected to be the largest IPO worldwide. The company wanted to sell 11 percent of the shares for $ 34 billion. After that setback, a blow to Alibaba followed. The online store giant was fined a record 18.2 billion yuan (2.3 billion euros) for creating a monopoly position. Subsequently, Alibaba was also forced to sell part of its interests in media companies.
Ma’s step back may still pave the way for the IPO that Ant Group is betting on. The group has done a lot in recent years to restructure at the discretion of the Chinese authorities. The fact that China’s market watchdog recently approved a $1.5 billion capital raise suggests that China is willing to loosen the reins somewhat. Due to the redistribution of voting rights, the IPO may be further delayed for legal reasons.
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