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Company Structure Adjusted

Jack Ma, one of China's most recognisable entrepreneurs, will no longer have any control over Ant Group, the Chinese fintech giant announced. Ma's fortunes have been affected by the Communist Party of China's crackdown on the nation's tech sector, which was prompted by his criticism of government regulators.

The announcement on Saturday revealed that Ant Group's ownership structure would be changed so that no single shareholder, or a group of them, would have control. At the time of the announcement, Ma indirectly held 53.46% of the company's shares and was considered the company's control person. However, after the adjustment he will only hold 6.2% of the voting rights.

The aim of the restructuring is to further enhance the stability of the corporate structure and sustainability of our long-term development, the statement said. Decisions about the company's future will no longer be made by Ma alone. Instead, ten individuals including the founder, management and staff will independently exercise their voting rights.

The statement also assured that the adjustment would not affect the economic interests of any shareholders. This statement came months after the excitement of Ant Group's world-record planned Initial Public Offering (IPO) in Hong Kong was extinguished due to Ma's remarks on government regulations. This led to the Chinese authorities fining Jack Ma's other business, Alibaba, with a record $2.75 billion for alleged unfair practices.

Share Pricing

In December 2020, however, China's Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission gave approval to Ant Group to raise 10.5 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) for its consumer finance arm. On the news, shares in Alibaba rose almost 9% in Hong Kong trading, boosting other tech firms on hopes the sector crackdown may be easing. Further backing this optimism was the company's earnings report from November, which showed a loss of 20.6 billion yuan for the third quarter.

China's Biggest Shopping Festival

Alibaba also took an unprecedented action for its annual Singles Day shopping festival in 2021 by not disclosing any sales figures. This event, once hosted by Ma alongside celebrities from China and other countries, has become more sedate in recent years.

Founder Missing Since IPO Fiasco

Since the failed IPO, Ma has mostly remained in the shadows, appearing only at charity events and making trips overseas. On Saturday, Bloomberg reported that the entrepreneur had gone to Thailand.