Jack Ma cedes control of Chinese fintech giant Ant Group

Chinese billionaire Jack Ma is ceding control of Alipay owner Ant Group. Per The Wall Street Journal, the Alibaba-affiliated company announced it would end agreements that had allowed Ma to hold a dominant position within Ant Group’s corporate governance structure. The outspoken entrepreneur previously possessed more than 50 percent of voting rights at Ant, even though he did not sit on the company’s board of directors or was involved in day-to-day operations. Ma’s influenced Ant Group through a handful of investment vehicles that owned a combined 50.5 percent stake in the fintech giant.