Ant completes process of removing Jack Ma’s control

ANT Group finished a procedure to remove controlling stakeholders almost a year after billionaire Jack Ma promised to cede his dominance of the Chinese finance giant. 

As part of the process, the People’s Bank of China granted an application to remove any controlling shareholders at Ant’s Chinese payment platform Alipay, according to a statement from the central bank. The bank now lists Ant’s Alipay as a firm without an actual controller. 

Ma, co-founder of Alibaba Group Holding, announced his retreat from Ant earlier this year in one of a number of moves aimed at appeasing Chinese regulators. In January, the finance company said 10 individuals, including management and staff, would be offered voting rights that would effectively remove the billionaire’s control. The adjustments will not change economic interests of any shareholders. 

The change of status with the PBOC will not affect the company’s day-to-day business operations, an Ant spokesperson said in response to the central bank’s statement. BLOOMBERG