Multi-billionaire Jack Ma is reported by Wall Street Journal, to plan to step down from Chinese Tech Giant Ant Group of Companies, a conglomerate that he had founded. The news comes in after Ant Group has been trying to separate its associates from Alibaba Group of holdings as Chinese regulators intensify scrutiny.
In the present scenario, Jack Ma does not hold a direct seat on the board of the company nor does he have any executive role in the company but he still owns 50.52% of the company shares through a private entity where he is the majority stakeholder. Reports published by WSJ suggest that Jack Ma might hand over the reins to some of the senior executives at the company including CEO Eric Jing which would decrease his hold over the company. Ant Group confirmed that these are part of his efforts to improve “corporate governance”. On Tuesday seven Ant Group executives stepped down from the Alibaba partnership including CEO Eric Jing.
Thus, this is primarily reasoned as Ant Group trying to disassociate itself with the Alibaba Group. Moreover, in terms of Financial Regulations which exist in the People’s Republic of China.
China’s tech crackdown has disrupted its financial markets. Thus, China has enforced strict regulations on its tech platforms over the past year.
Hence, Ant Group is only protecting itself and the legacy created by its founder Billionaire Jack Ma.
Alibaba and Ant Group are trying to sever their ties. As both the companies had ended their agreements which had given Alibaba an edge. With this the company is trying to reduce its dependence on Jack Ma.
