Chinese billionaire Jack Ma is to relinquish control of Ant Group, the fintech company revealed on Saturday, as its founder continues his withdrawal from his online businesses following Beijing’s tech crackdown.
Ma will see his voting rights shrink from above 50 per cent to 6.2 per cent, according to calculations based on a statement from the online payments and loans provider. The planned change of control, first reported last July, would help release the company from the limbo it has experienced since an intended IPO was pulled at the last minute in November 2020.
A change in control starts the clock on Ant having to wait a year before it can attempt a fresh listing in Hong Kong, or two years for the high-tech STAR board in Shanghai. But the timeline could be delayed if other regulatory requirements are not met.