Ant Group Co., the Chinese financial-technology big managed by billionaire
Jack Ma,
disclosed that the chairman of the Hong Kong inventory alternate’s operator has joined its board, as the corporate continues an overhaul following its canceled preliminary public providing in 2020.
Hangzhou, China-based Ant on Wednesday launched a 94-page sustainability report that laid out its environmental, social and governance technique. The firm additionally up to date its web site with the names of two new administrators, reflecting adjustments that had taken place earlier on.
Fred Hu
and
Fang Jiang,
who beforehand had been Ant nonexecutive administrators, left the board final 12 months, in response to an individual aware of the matter.
Laura Cha,
who chairs the board of
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd.
, and Xiaolei Yang, a veteran lawyer, had been added to the board this 12 months, the individual stated.
Mr. Hu is a former chairman of Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s China enterprise and the founding father of Primavera Capital Group, an funding agency that owns shares in Ant.
Ms. Jiang was one in all three
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
’s representatives on Ant’s board. Alibaba’s vice chairman,
Joseph Tsai,
and its chief expertise officer,
Li Cheng,
are nonetheless Ant administrators. The Chinese e-commerce firm owns a 3rd of Ant, which operates Alipay, a ubiquitous funds community in China that additionally facilitates loans to shoppers and small companies, and different monetary providers.
Ant stated impartial administrators now make up half its board, and three of the eight members are girls. The firm additionally stated it plans so as to add extra impartial administrators, who will ultimately make up a majority of its board.
When the corporate filed for twin listings in Shanghai and Hong Kong round two years in the past, its board on the time had 9 people. Three of them, together with Primavera’s Mr. Hu, had been listed as impartial administrators in Ant’s IPO prospectus.
Simon Hu,
Ant’s then-chief govt, resigned in 2021 and vacated his board seat.
Ant had been on observe to lift greater than $34 billion from Hong Kong and Shanghai listings in what would have been the world’s largest IPO, earlier than the offers had been abruptly known as off in November 2020. The Wall Street Journal reported that Chinese President
Xi Jinping
personally scuttled the deal after Mr. Ma criticized the nation’s regulators in a speech. Authorities subsequently rolled out a wide-ranging regulatory crackdown on internet-technology firms.
Ant has been restructuring its enterprise after coming underneath heavy strain from Chinese authorities to fall totally consistent with monetary rules. The firm stated final 12 months that it’s going to turn out to be a financial-holding firm overseen by the People’s Bank of China.
Mrs. Cha has been on the helm of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing since 2018. She beforehand held roles in China’s central authorities and in Hong Kong, together with at China’s securities regulator and Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission. She additionally served on the board of
HSBC Holdings
PLC and was chairman of the British banking big’s Asia-Pacific division till her exit final 12 months.
Ms. Yang is at present an impartial director of Hengfeng Bank Co., a Chinese regional lender that was bailed out by state-backed buyers in 2019. She was an lawyer and accomplice at legislation companies King & Wood Mallesons and Jingtian & Gongcheng, in response to Hengfeng Bank’s annual report.
Write to Dave Sebastian at [email protected]
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