{"text":[[{"start":12.89,"text":"Sightings of Jack Ma on a yacht can move markets. "},{"start":16.169,"text":"When the charismatic co-founder of Alibaba visited Mallorca last October, Alibaba shares surged. "},{"start":21.912,"text":"Ma, reported to be in Europe again, is also behind Friday’s 6 per cent drop. "}],[{"start":28.009999999999998,"text":"Ma is planning to give up control of Ant Group, in which he holds 51 per cent of the voting rights. "},{"start":33.702,"text":"The retreat comes two years after Beijing suspended Ant’s record-breaking listing which would have raised $37bn, valuing the payments affiliate at about $315bn. "}],[{"start":44.89,"text":"On the surface, the market reaction is surprising. "},{"start":48.282000000000004,"text":"Ma stepped down as Alibaba chair in 2019 and has distanced himself from day-to-day operations. "}],[{"start":54.83,"text":"Some might even have expected a jump in the share price. "},{"start":58.233999999999995,"text":"Ma had provoked officials with his blunt criticism of China’s state-owned banks’ “pawnshop mentality” in 2020. "},{"start":64.264,"text":"That was on top of the disruption of their businesses caused by the rapid growth in Ant’s digital payments and retail deposits. "},{"start":70.544,"text":"Alibaba and Ant were the focus of Beijing’s first big investigation by regulators cracking down on the tech sector. "},{"start":76.762,"text":"Ma’s exit would make the companies less of a target. "}],[{"start":80.69,"text":"But the move damages the prospects of an Ant listing. "},{"start":83.957,"text":"For Alibaba, which holds about a third of Ant, an IPO was one of the few ways it could boost its floundering sales growth and share price. "},{"start":91.399,"text":"The stock has declined nearly 70 per cent since a 2020 peak. "},{"start":95.417,"text":"It trades at just 14 times forward earnings, less than half that of local peers such as JD.com "}],[{"start":102.50999999999999,"text":"Companies that undergo controlling ownership changes have to wait three years before they are able to list on mainland Chinese markets. "},{"start":109.41399999999999,"text":"In Hong Kong, the requirement is one year. "},{"start":112.25699999999999,"text":"That pushes out hopes of a listing revival much too far. "}],[{"start":116.57999999999998,"text":"Previous jumps in Alibaba’s share price triggered by Ma sightings reflect the value investors placed on his innovative ideas and leadership. "},{"start":124.12199999999999,"text":"Those gains will become less frequent with Ma’s exit. "}],[{"start":127.19999999999999,"text":""}]],"url":"https://creatives.ftacademy.cn/album/78949-1659105719.mp3"}