Alibaba's Ant Undergoes Major Board Reshuffle, Names Hong Kong Bourse Boss As Independent Director

Alibaba's Chinese fintech giant Ant Group has appointed Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing chairman Laura Cha as an independent director, according to a recent website update.

What Happened: Jack Ma-controlled Ant Group underwent a major restructuring in order to address Chinese government concerns that botched its $37-billion IPO plans in late 2020.

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The company also added Yang Xiaolei, an independent director of Hengfeng Bank, as a director. However, the website did not state the date of the appointments.

​​Alibaba Group Holding (NYSE: BABA) owns a roughly 33% stake in the company, and its co-founder Joseph Tsai continues to be a non-executive director on Ant's board. 

According to an Ant prospectus that it filed to the Hong Kong stock exchange, it had nine board directors, of which three were independent directors. But it now has eight directors on its board, four of whom are independent directors.

The report noted that billionaire Ma is not on Ant's board but controls its voting rights.

Why It Matters: The regulatory hammer on its IPO in 2020 forced Ant to undergo a restructuring plan that would see it become a financial holding company. The company is now looking to expand outside China due to the regulatory challenges. It also hired for a number of roles in Singapore.

BABA Price Action: According to data from Benzinga Pro, Alibaba shares are trading 3.87% higher at $96.99 midday Thursday. 

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