- A $37 billion IPO by Ant Group in Hong Kong in 2020 was halted by Chinese authorities.
- The Chinese tycoon’s share of the company’s voting power will drop to around 6.2%.
Jack Ma, co-founder, and CEO of Alibaba, is stepping down as chairman of Ant Group, a Chinese financial technology behemoth. The billionaire’s exit from the fintech behemoth was approved by a vote of the company’s shareholders, according to Reuters. Moreover, a $37 billion IPO by Ant Group in Hong Kong in 2020 was halted by Chinese authorities.
In a statement, Ant Group said it is changing its ownership structure so that “no shareholder, alone or jointly with other parties will have control over Ant Group.”
Before this, Jack Ma was indirectly responsible for approximately 54% of the company’s shares. After the changes are implemented, the Chinese tycoon’s share of the company’s voting power will drop to around 6.2%.
Since he spoke out against the policies of the Chinese government, the founder of Alibaba has been met with hostility by the country’s regulatory bodies. Furthermore, before now, Alibaba had to pay a $2.75 billion fine due to accusations of unfair business practices.
Optimistic Stance Toward the Metaverse
Alibaba and Ant Group, two Chinese conglomerates, have both made investments in the metaverse. Alibaba made a $60 million investment in Nreal, a Chinese manufacturer of augmented reality glasses, in May of 2022. Throughout the year, Ant Group maintained its optimistic stance toward the metaverse and VR.
Furthermore, it remains to be seen how the fintech behemoth will pursue metaverse now that Jack Ma is no longer a major stakeholder in the company. After the IPO of his company Ant Group was burned by Chinese authorities in 2021, and his other enterprises were investigated, Alibaba’s founder vanished from public view.
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