Jack Ma gives up control of Ant Group as fintech firm says it has no plans for IPO

Billionaire Alibaba founder Jack Ma has relinquished his control of Chinese fintech giant Ant Group, as the company looks to draw a line under the controversy that has dogged it since it was forced to abandon plans for an IPO in late 2020. Ma and nine other individuals will now exercise independent voting rights, the firm said on Jan. 7, adding that “no shareholder, alone or jointly with other parties, will have control over Ant Group.” The announcement was made after Chinese regulators approved Ant Group’s $1.5 billion capital plan for its consumer unit on Dec. 30, a plan which included making government-owned Hangzhou Finance and Investment Group Co. its second biggest shareholder. A company spokesperson told Reuters that Ant has no current plans for an IPO and will focus on business optimization. [Ant Group statement]