Jack Ma, Chinese Billionaire Resigns From Ant Group
The Ant Group's main shareholder is no longer the Chinese billionaire Jack Ma. Jack Ma owned nearly 54% of the stock.
Ant Group remained positive in metaverse and VR throughout the year. After Jack Ma's departure as the company's top shareholder, it will be interesting to see how the fintech giant handles metaverse.
Jack Ma, a Chinese billionaire, is no longer the Ant Group's
largest stakeholder. Jack Ma held close to 54% of the shares.
The Chinese financial behemoth Ant Group will no longer be under the leadership of Alibaba co-founder and CEO Jack Ma. According to Reuters, the shareholders of the fintech firm approved a set of changes that will result in the billionaire's exit from Ant Group.
Ant Group's anticipated $37 billion IPO in Hong Kong in 2020 had been halted by Chinese regulators.
Jack Ma held 53.46% of the Ant Group's stock.
Ant Group announced that it is changing its ownership structure to prevent "any shareholder, acting alone or in concert with other parties, from controlling Ant Group."
Previously, roughly 54% of the company's shares were indirectly owned by Jack Ma. The Chinese minority will only control about 6.2% of the voting power in the corporation after changes to the organisational structure. Since the founder of Alibaba made comments against government regulating practises, Chinese regulators have not been kind to him. A $2.75 billion fine was previously imposed on Alibaba for allegedly unfair business practises.
Will Ant Group keep funding Metaverse?
Alibaba and Ant Group, both Chinese businesses, both have some investments in the metaverse. Alibaba contributed $60 million to the Chinese manufacturer of augmented reality glasses Nreal in May of last year. Throughout the year, Ant Group maintained its bullish stance on the metaverse and virtual reality. However, it will be intriguing to observe how the fintech juggernaut will handle metaverse now that Jack Ma has stepped down as the company's largest shareholder.
How is Jack Ma doing?
Alibaba's founder fully vanished from the public eye in 2021 after Chinese regulators savaged Ant Group's IPO and probed his other enterprises. Where Jack Ma has been living for the past few months has been the subject of numerous reports. The Chinese millionaire was reportedly seen mingling in Bangkok this week, according to Reuters.
Since criticising Chinese banking officials in Shanghai in 2022, Jack Ma has not made any public statements.
