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Topic: Jack Ma

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. (AFP) News 

China’s Ant Group Successfully Removes Jack Ma, Highlighting Unique Corporate Structure

Jim Hendler

Almost a year after billionaire Jack Ma pledged to relinquish control of Ant Group Co., the company has successfully completed the necessary steps to remove its controlling stakeholders. The People’s Bank of China has approved the application to eliminate any controlling shareholders at Ant’s Chinese payment platform, Alipay. Consequently, the central bank now recognizes Alipay as a company without a definitive controller. Ma, co-founder of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, announced earlier this year that he was pulling out of Ant as one of several moves to appease Chinese regulators. In…

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Ant invested nearly 20.5 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) in R&D last year, doubling the company’s annual spending on such efforts compared with 2019. (REUTERS) AI 

Ant Group Developing Advanced Language Model Technology with Support from Jack Ma

Adarsh V.K, ,

Ant Group Co., which is supported by Jack Ma, is working on advanced language model technology to fuel ChatGPT-like services, as part of a group of Chinese firms vying for an advantage in the field of next-generation artificial intelligence. The project, known as “Zhen Yi”, is being created by a dedicated unit and will utilize in-house research. An Ant spokesperson confirmed the news, which was first reported by Chinastarmarket.cn Ant competes against companies including its affiliate Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Baidu Inc. and SenseTime Group Inc. Their efforts mirror developments…

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Alibaba founder Jack Ma has returned to China, ending a more than yearlong stay overseas that was viewed by industry as reflecting the sober mood of China's private businesses and troubled policymakers trying to spur the economy. News 

Jack Ma returns to China as the government tries to quell private sector fears

Febin Mathew, , ,

HONG KONG/BEIJING: Alibaba founder Jack Ma has returned to China, ending a stay abroad that lasted more than a year, which the industry said reflected the sober mood of restive policymakers trying to boost China’s private companies and economy. The return of China’s most famous entrepreneur could help quell concerns among the country’s private sector companies after two years of draconian regulations. His public appearance underpins the government’s softening tone toward the private sector as leaders try to shore up an economy that has been weighed down by three years…

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Authorities have also criticized Ant for its poor corporate governance, disregard for regulatory requirements and regulatory arbitrage. (REUTERS) News 

China orders Ant to return to roots in payments services

Nitin Misra

Chinese regulators have ordered Jack Ma’s online financial titan Ant Group Co. to return to its roots as a payment service provider, threatening to slow the growth of its most lucrative consumer lending business and wealth management. The central bank summoned Ant executives over the weekend and told them to “rectify” the company’s lending, insurance and wealth management services, the People’s Bank of China said in a statement on Sunday. While refraining from directly requesting the dissolution of the company, the central bank stressed that Ant should “understand the need…

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