Ant Denies Report It’s Exploring Ways for Jack Ma to Sell Stake

  • Date: 18-Apr-2021
  • Source: Yahoo News
  • Sector:Economy
  • Country:Middle East
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Ant Denies Report It’s Exploring Ways for Jack Ma to Sell Stake

Andrew DavisApril 17, 2021, 7:02 PM·2 min read(Bloomberg) -- Ant Group denied a report that the Chinese finance-technology company is exploring ways for founder Jack Ma to sell his stake and give up control as a means to ease pressure from the country's regulators.Reuters reported earlier that officials from the People's Bank of China and the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission held talks with Ma and Ant separately between January and March, where the possibility of Ma's exit was discussed. The report cited people familiar with the matter.The company hoped that Ma's stake would be sold to existing shareholders in Ant or its e-commerce partner Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Reuters said.Ant issued a statement to the news agency that said the divestment of Ma's stake wasn't considered. The company reiterated the denial in a tweet following the report, saying the “divestment of Mr. Ma's stake in Ant Group has never been the subject of discussions with anyone.”The Chinese' government has been squeezing Ma's internet empire as part of an effort to imprint its authority indelibly on the country's technology industry. In landmark announcements this month, it slapped a record $2.8 billion fine on Alibaba for abusing its market dominance,