Earlier in 2022, the founder of Alibaba, Jack Ma, made some “controversial remarks” about the Chinese government. The English teacher-turned-entrepreneur publicly criticized the financial sector of China and found himself in hot water. Since then, the Alibaba founder has rarely been seen in public and social media. According to the latest updates, Jack Ma is losing control over Ant Group, a giant Chinese fintech payment gateway company. The Alibaba founder, who owned 60% of Ant Group, will now be losing control of the fintech company. Initial reports reveal that this action has been taken because of some “regulatory crackdowns.” According to trusted sources, this regulatory crackdown is because of the controversial remarks that the Alibaba founder had made about the financial sector of China, earlier in 2020.
In November 2020, the founder of Aliba – the leading B2B eCommerce giant, compared the Chinese financial sector with pawn shop calculations. China’s financial sector has a “pawn shop mentality,” Jack Ma asserted in a news conference in November 2020.
Following his controversial statement, the Chinese financial authorities became proactive. To begin with, Ant Group’s market floatation was canceled at the last minute of hitting the market. The floatation was anticipated to be at least $26 billion. The financial sector cited some “major issues” as the only reason to cancel the market floatation of Ant Group. According to expert analysts, this move was taken to humble that was growing at a rapid pace and was threatening the government of China. Similarly, it was an attempt to hush a businessman who was becoming more outspoken about the authoritative regime of China.
Jack Ma in Hot Water Following His Controversial Remarks About Chinese Financial Sector
Recently, Ant Groups another announcement cited that Jack Ma will now be owning only 6% of the fintech giant company. Mr. Ma, who also founded Alibaba along with Ant Group, was owning 60% of Ant Group. The company specializes in online payment and is lauded as the largest online payment platform in China. Because the fintech company was growing at a rapid pace and the founder was becoming more outspoken, China took Jack Ma with a pinch of salt.
Opposed to conventional Chinese banks, Ant Group is a much-updated platform that offers a seamless experience of online payments. Unlike the traditional banking system of China, Ma’s Ant Group makes online payment a breeze.
While addressing a finance conference, Mr. Ma explained how Ant Group has made online payment a breeze. Similarly, Jack Ma also reiterated the need for a digital banking system in the country. Jack Ma, who was once an English teacher, made a “controversial” comparison of Ant Group’s digital banking and the conventional banking of China.
In turn, the founder of Alibaba faced government backlash from the financial sector of China. Chinese officials have canceled Jack Ma from the ownership of Ant Group. And according to the latest updates from Ant Group, Jack Ma will be owning only 6% of the payment company.
