China’s central bank has agreed that Ant Group’s mobile payment app Alipay has no controller, a crucial step in the fintech giant’s overhaul deemed necessary to put its much-anticipated initial public offering back on track, reports the South China Morning Post. The restructuring saw the voting rights of founder Jack Ma shrink to just 6.21% from 53.46%. The move is seen as paving the way for Ant to resume its public listing that was derailed in 2020 following a controversial speech given by Ma.
The billionaire’s share of the voting rights are now divided among Hangzhou Junhan Equity Investment—owned by Ma and four others with 31.04% of voting rights—and Hangzhou Junao Equity, another firm owned by five other individuals with 22.42% of voting rights. The companies’ voting shares are equal to their ownership stakes.
The People’s Bank of China announced the decision concerning Alipay.com, one of Ant’s major entities in China, on its website on Saturday.