Ant Group's rectification boots have finally landed.
Author | Old high
Source | Investor (ID: touzijias)
Ant Group's rectification boots have finally landed.
Recently, a "sky-high" fine of up to 7.123 billion yuan pushed Ant Group and Jack Ma to the cusp. When the outside world thought that Alibaba's stock price would pay for the "little brother" fine, Ant Group accepted the punishment with a very sincere and sincere attitude, prompting Alibaba's U.S. stock to rise more than 3% pre-market, and the next day, Ant Group issued an equity repurchase plan, corresponding to the company's valuation of about 567.1 billion yuan.
From 2.1 trillion yuan to 567.1 billion yuan, the valuation of Ant Group fluctuates surprisingly. But in the view of an industry analyst, the sharp decline in Ant Group's valuation is not a bad thing, indicating that they have said goodbye to "puffiness" and developed into a healthy model. The landing of this rectification boot undoubtedly indicates that Ant Group, which has been IPO and the market has been bleak for 3 years, may usher in the dawn of listing.
All thanks to 59-year-old Jack Ma. Since returning to China for more than 100 days, he has completed a series of important measures related to the future and fate of Alibaba and Ant Group - including the "1+6+N" organizational structure adjustment, the change of coach Daniel Zhang, the use of "18 Arhats", and the recall of Tsai Chongxin, who is passionate about basketball in the United States, as chairman of Alibaba's board of directors and taking charge of the overall situation. The Tianyancha APP shows that Ma Yun is no longer the actual controller of Alibaba and Ant Group, and he has quietly hidden after returning to China to lay out everything.
One
In recent days, the most discussed topic in the Chinese business community is the 7.123 billion yuan "sky-high" fine.
Whether the media or industry insiders want to see how Alibaba and Ant Group take the offering. 7.123 billion yuan is not a small amount, and it can be said that it has refreshed the history of fines. Capital markets are also concerned about fines, which are related to Alibaba's future move.
Just when the outside world was wondering, Ant Group accepted the punishment with a very sincere and sincere attitude, but let Alibaba run out of profits, and the US stock rose more than 3% pre-market. Subsequently, Ant Group issued an announcement that it would repurchase no more than 7.6% of the shares of existing shareholders, and the repurchase price corresponds to the company's valuation of about 567.1 billion yuan. This is the first time that Ant Group, which is in the rectification stage, has disclosed its valuation to the outside world.
In 2020, there was a round of applause from the Hangzhou headquarters of Ant Group, according to the plan, this "financial behemoth" will achieve the pace of IPO at a valuation of 2.1 trillion yuan on the science and technology innovation board, when a large number of employee tycoons will be born, and the capital will be linked to launch a wealth carnival.
Is the $2.1 trillion valuation reasonable? There was no shortage of doubts in the market, but it was drowned in the tide of cheers, until the regulation took action, Ant Group withdrew its IPO, entered the rectification cycle, and the valuation was a mystery. In the past 3 years, the outside world has continued to pay attention to the movements of Ant Group.
Specific to the rectification issue, Ant Group has to deal with several major matters, including Ant Group's overall application for the establishment of a financial holding company to achieve all financial business under supervision; The payment business returns to the origin of payment, adheres to the positioning of small and convenient people, and serves small and micro enterprises; Apply for the establishment of a personal credit investigation company, operate personal credit investigation business with a license in accordance with the law, legally and compliantly, strengthen the protection of personal information, and effectively prevent data abuse; Incorporate "borrowing" and "huabei" into consumer finance companies, and carry out consumer finance business in accordance with laws and regulations; Strengthen the protection of consumer rights and interests, and strengthen the management of financial consumer appropriateness; Improve corporate governance, abide by the legal rules of fair competition, regulate related party transactions, strengthen risk prevention and control, create a fair competition market environment, and further enhance the construction of a social responsibility system.
The above matters were not completed overnight. As the head of Ant Group's family, Ma Yun's overseas idle days have made the outside world worried about the future of Ant Group, and some views believe that "Ant Group's dream of going public is just a dream." ”
Such views are not groundless, because the above-mentioned rectification matters are very difficult, and one of the points must fall on the actual controller. In other words, in the rectification environment of the Ant Group, Ma Yun's weight is still very heavy, and if he wants to "put it out", everything is for nothing.
Two
With Ma Yun's wealth, he actually does not need to think about the future and fate of the Ant Group.
As early as 2019, Jack Ma announced a "retirement" plan to hand over the company's future to Daniel Zhang. The latter lived up to expectations, leading Alibaba and its affiliates to achieve remarkable results in the Internet era, achieving revenue and profit growth, and Daniel Zhang won the title of "the best professional migrant worker" with a wealth of 6.7 billion yuan. Daniel Zhang managing Alibaba, Ma Yun happily lives an idyllic life.
Just get dividends in the day, why should he worry about the Ant Group? In the end, it is the responsibility of entrepreneurs.
This sentence sounds a bit "hollow", but that's what Ma Yun did.
2023 is a key year for Ant Group's rectification. They completed business and management adjustments in 2021 and 2022. In July last year, Alibaba disclosed the latest list of partners in its financial report, and Ant Group management Jing Xiandong, Ni Xingjun, Zeng Songbai and others were no longer partners of Alibaba, and actively rectified at the level of improving corporate governance proposed by the regulator.
This year, Jack Ma suddenly appeared in Hangzhou, talking about ChatGPT and artificial intelligence, which triggered unlimited reverie in the media, feeling that he wanted to bid farewell to the idyllic life, seize the wind, show his majesty, and lead Alibaba to occupy a place under the global wave.
When Ma Yun returned to China, his first action caught the media off guard and made the "1+6+N" organizational structure adjustment. The so-called "1+6+N" refers to the establishment of six major business groups and a number of business companies under Alibaba, including Alibaba Cloud Intelligence, Taobao Tmall Business, Local Life, International Digital Business, Cainiao, and Dawen Entertainment. Essentially, Alibaba's big spin-off of its existing business.
The second action, changing the coach Daniel Zhang, enables the "eighteen arhats". Since Alibaba's listing, the plate has become bigger and bigger, and the "eighteen arhats" are close to retirement within Alibaba. Ma Yun once pointed out that Alibaba needs more fresh blood, and the "eighteen arhats" gave up positions and opportunities, and the most famous of them, Cai Chongxin, went to the United States to engage in the basketball career he loved.
In the United States, Tsai Chongxin has achieved many personal achievements, he is a member of the NBA China board member, the owner of the Nets, he is also passionate about charity, establishing the Tsai Chongxin Public Welfare Foundation, training Chinese young people to participate in basketball, and donating money to support the Chinese women's football team.
Although Cai Chongxin is idle, he is a veritable Alibaba's "fire captain" who has helped the company tide over crises many times. At that time, Son invested in Ma Yun, which was rumored to be "Ma Yun found Son Masayoshi and moved the world's top investors with perseverance." In fact, Cai Chongxin matched the bridge, accompanied Ma Yun to negotiate repeatedly, and impressed Son Ma with professional ability and literacy.
It was Son's investment that changed Alibaba's future and destiny. Time passed, and the second thing Ma did when he returned to China was to recall Cai Chongxin as chairman of Alibaba's board of directors, taking charge of the overall situation. Ma Yun himself completed a big move.
Three
He threw away the identity of the actual controller of the Ant Group.
It is difficult not to participate in the daily life of the company. Dare to throw away the identity of the actual controller, it is even more difficult.
Liu Qiangdong "delegated" power to JD.com and won praise from the outside world. "Decentralization" is very difficult for those who start from scratch and start a business, as if they can't see "children". Dare to throw away the identity of the actual controller, it is extremely rare to look at the world.
Ma Yun did it, and his big move solved the difficult part of the rectification and reform of the Ant Group. He used the way of quitting the company, cooperated with the rectification of Ant Group, and waited for his boots to land. As for the large shrinkage of the valuation that netizens have discussed, in the view of an industry analyst, the large decline in the valuation of Ant Group is not a bad thing, indicating that they have bid farewell to "puffiness" and developed into a healthy model.
Of course, a shrinking valuation will bring various contractions, such as business contraction, employee benefits contraction, etc. Conversely, if Ant Group has no hope of an IPO, it is not a contraction. Moreover, the valuation of 567.1 billion yuan is not low.
The boots landed, and Ma Yun's troubles were estimated to be put down, and he was "unofficial and light." The Tianyancha APP shows that Ma Yun is no longer the actual controller of Alibaba and Ant Group, and he has quietly hidden after returning to China to lay out everything.
Last week, the English-language newspaper Tribune revealed Ma's whereabouts, and he traveled to Pakistan in a low-key manner. According to the Securities Times, he also went to Bangladesh. Some people said, "Jack Ma is inspecting Alibaba's e-commerce business while playing." ”
This e-commerce company is called Dalaizan. Founded in 2012, they are a small online fashion retailer headquartered in Pakistan. In 2015, Darlaizan started operations in Bangladesh; In 2016, Daraizan acquired Kaymu and expanded into Sri Lanka and Nepal. In 2018, they were acquired by Alibaba and became part of the global e-commerce layout.
However, whether Ma Yun inspected the business or met with old friends abroad, no media can confirm, leaving Pakistan, where he will go next has become a mystery. In the past week, Ma Yun's whereabouts have hardly been found on the Internet, and only his legend has been left in the market.