Chinese tech billionaire Jack Ma is reportedly planning to give up control of Ant Group, marking a potentially landmark development for the fintech giant following its canceled IPO in late 2020.
Jack Ma plans to relinquish control of Ant Group, according to a «Dow Jones» report citing unnamed sources, amidst ongoing efforts to appease Chinese regulators. While regulators did not demand the change, Ant notified them of Ma’s intention and they have given their blessing.
According to the report, Ma currently controls 50.52 percent of voting rights in Ant Group, though he doesn’t hold any titles, and he could transfer some of the voting power to other Ant officials including chief executive Eric Jing.
IPO Revival
The latest move could delay the revival of Ant’s initial public offering by another year or more, as required by Chinese securities regulations following a change in control.
Ant was reported seeking to file a preliminary prospectus for a share offering in Shanghai and Hong Kong as early as this month. A team was also reportedly formed by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) to specifically reassess Ant’s share sale plans with an initial focus on the Shanghai listing.
