The change in management also comes days after some Ant staff expressed frustration on social media for not being able to sell the company shares they own after Chinese regulators abruptly halted the company’s market debut.Credit:AP
Hu’s exit from the company comes as Ant is working on plans to shift to a financial holding company structure following intense regulatory pressure to subject it to rules and capital requirements similar to those for banks.
That pressure abruptly scuttled Ant’s IPO last year,which would have been the world’s biggest.
Hu resigned for personal reasons,Ant said in a statement,without elaborating.
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“Following the board’s thorough discussions,we have decided to respect Simon’s personal request and support him fully in his new mission,” Jing said in an internal memo,an excerpt of which was seen by Reuters.
Jing will continue in his current role as chairman,he said.
US-listed shares in billionaire Jack Ma’s Alibaba fell by 3.9 per cent on Friday.