China’s central bank agreed that Ant Group’s Alipay has no controller.

© Reuters. In this illustrated photo taken on June 28, 2023, the Alipay logo appears next to the app’s QR payment code. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration/File Photo

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s central bank has announced that fintech giant Jack Ma’s Ant Group, which owns the popular payments app Alipay, will have no controller following a major business overhaul, according to the People’s Bank of China website. They say they agreed.

In January, Ant Group said founder Jack Ma would no longer control the fintech giant and would give up most of his voting rights.

On Saturday, an Ant Group spokesperson said the corporate governance optimization announced on January 7 has been completed and it will not affect the company’s day-to-day business operations.