Ant Group’s President Cyril Han will take on the role of chief executive officer from March 2025 as the fintech giant tries to rebuild growth momentum after a government crackdown on the internet sector.
Han will succeed Eric Jing as CEO on March 1, 2025 and be responsible for all business segments and daily management, according to an internal memo seen by Bloomberg that was confirmed by a company spokesperson.
Jing will remain company chairman and Han, who is also chief financial officer, will continue to report to him and the board of directors.
About four years ago, Chinese authorities abruptly halted the Jack Ma-backed company’s initial public offering, which would have been the world’s largest, and ordered it to overhaul its business model to comply with financial regulations.
Hangzhou-based Ant has reorganised its units and has been counting on breakthroughs in tech and AI to revitalise business after the regulatory clampdown that dented profit growth and limited its online lending activities.
Ant is expanding its business with AI-powered products in areas including dining, ride-hailing, entertainment services, healthcare and finance, which are playing an increasing part in Chinese people’s lives.
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The company’s profit grew almost 193% in the quarter ended June, reversing a year-long decline.
Ant said it is growing its global business through Ant International, which is strengthening its four key pillars of business operations this year — Alipay+, Antom, WorldFirst and Embedded Finance.
In March, it set up independent boards for its international, database and digital technologies units to pave the way for future spinoffs.
