Chairman of China’s Ant Group Steps Down From Alipay Role

Chinese FinTech Ant Group‘s Alipay is in the midst of another change in corporate leadership, with Eric Jing Xiandong stepping down as legal representative and chairman of Alipay.com.

That’s according to a report Wednesday (Aug. 3) from the South China Morning Post (SCMP), citing a source familiar with the matter. He’ll be replaced by Ni Xingjun, Ant’s chief technology officer (CTO) and a founding team member at Alipay.

Read more: As Jack Ma Gives up Ant Control, the Super App Now ‘Belongs’ to the Government

“This is a standard corporate governance practice and is a move that aligns with our business operations,” an Alipay spokeswoman told SCMP. Jing had held the positing since 2020, taking over from Lucy Peng Lei, a billionaire businesswoman and founding member of Alibaba.

See also: Ant Group Execs Step Away From Alibaba Amid Probes in China

The move comes a week after PYMNTS reported that Ant Group executives were leaving their roles as partners of affiliate company Alibaba as China’s two largest tech firms attempt to create distance from one another amid rising regulatory oversight.

Ant Group has worked to separate itself further from Alibaba since its $37 billion initial public offering (IPO) was blocked by regulators in China at the end of 2020. It has since had to conduct reforms under scrutiny from China’s central bank. Alibaba also said the two companies agreed to end their data sharing agreement last month.

“We and Ant Group will, to the extent necessary for each party to provide services to our respective customers, instead negotiate the terms of data sharing arrangements on a case-by-case basis and as permitted by applicable laws and regulations,” the Hangzhou-based company said in the annual report.

Last week also saw reports that billionaire Jack Ma, one of the most high-profile entrepreneurs in China, could be relinquishing control of Ant Group, a move that would further separate the company from Alibaba.