Jack Ma to give up control of Chinese fintech giant Ant Group

The billionaire founder of Ant Group, Jack Ma, is to give up control of the Chinese fintech giant after a regulatory crackdown.

The once high-profile Chinese entrepreneur disappeared from the public view after criticizing the Chinese regulators in 2020.

Following that criticism, the much-anticipated Initial Public Offering (IPO) of the Ant Group was also abruptly stopped by the Chinese government at the last minute. Ant Group runs Alipay, the main online payment system in China.

Mr. Ma, a former English teacher who founded e-commerce giant Alibaba, directly and indirectly, controls more than 50% of Ant Group. However, after the changes in governance structure, he will control just over 6%, according to an Ant Group statement.