Alibaba founder Jack Ma will cede control of his fintech subsidiary, Ant Group, as part of changes the company says are aimed at improving its corporate governance and transparency.
The “adjustment” of the shareholding structure will lead to changes in the voting rights of its main shareholders, including Jack Ma, Ant said in a statement released on Saturday.
The Chinese fintech company said Jack Ma has majority stake and voting rights through Hangzhou Junhan Equity Investment Partnership and Hangzhou Junao Investment Partnership. Hangzhou Yunbo Investment Consultancy is the general partner of the two investment companies, which together own 53.46% of Ant’s shares.
New chapter
Once completed, the restructuring will mean that no shareholder – working alone or with another shareholder – will have the power to control the outcome of general meetings, Ant said. The company added that none of its top ten shareholders will have the power to appoint a majority of its board members and, therefore, will not be able to control the company.
In November 2020, Ant withdrew plans to go public in Shanghai and Hong Kong after regulators found the company did not meet the requirements to do so.
Various initiatives have been put in place since 2021 to “optimize” corporate governance and establish “long-term sustainable development”, Ant said in its statement. In particular, it increased the number of independent directors to four, ie half of the current members of the organization’s board of directors. A fifth additional independent director will also be appointed, meaning independent directors will form the majority of its board, according to Ant.
Source: ZDNet.com