Jack Ma plans to give up control of Ant Group

Chinese billionaire Jack Ma plans to give up control of financial technology company Ant Group Co in an effort to move away from affiliate Alibaba Group Holding Ltd , the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

Alibaba did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The company's U.S.-listed were trading lower before the bell.

Last year, Reuters reported that Ant was exploring options for Ma to divest his stake in the financial technology giant and give up control.

Ant, an affiliate of Alibaba, has been subjected to a sweeping restructuring by China, whose initial public offering of $37 billion, was derailed by the country's regulators in late 2020.

Since the cancellation, Ant, controlled by Ma, has embarked on a regulatory-driven restructuring plan that would see it become a financial holding company.