Shares of Ant-linked firms rise after news of Jack Ma ceding control; Alibaba jumps

Shares of listed Chinese companies that count Ant Group as a major shareholder rose on Monday after announcements that Ant founder Jack Ma is giving up control of the fintech giant following an overhaul.

Hong Kong-listed shares of Ma’s Alibaba jumped more than 5 percent.

Shares of Longshine Technology Group Co Ltd, Jilin Zhengyuan, Shanghai Golden Bridge Infotech Co, Orbbec Inc and Hundsun Technologies, in which Ant owns a more than 5 percent stake, also rose.

Ant said over the weekend that founder Jack Ma will give up control of the company.

The overhaul seeks to draw a line under a regulatory crackdown that was triggered soon after its mammoth stock market debut was scuppered two years ago.

“Investors can stop guessing and can finally assign a risk premium to the new company that Ant was transformed to be,” said Alexander Sirakov, managing partner at Aquariusx, a Shanghai-based investment consultancy.

While some analysts have said a relinquishing of control could clear the way for the company to revive its initial public offering (IPO), the controller changes announced on Saturday, however, are likely to result in a further delay due to listing regulations.

China’s domestic A-share market requires companies to wait three years after a change in control to list. The wait is two years on Shanghai’s Nasdaq-style STAR market, and one year in Hong Kong.

Ant Group said on Sunday it has no plan to initiate an IPO.

Ant’s $37 billion IPO, which would have been the world’s largest, was cancelled at the last minute in November 2020, leading to a forced restructuring of the financial technology firm and speculation the Chinese billionaire would have to cede control.