Jack Ma Plays Key Role In Alibaba's Business Split

Alibaba Group Holding Limited BABA founder Jack Ma staged the latest restructuring of the company from overseas amid China's sweeping regulatory crackdown on the sector and intense competition.

Despite having relinquished the executive Chair position of Alibaba in 2019, Ma remained an influential figure and key decisionmaker at the company, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Lately, Ma has held calls with Alibaba's top executives, including the current Chair and CEO, Daniel Zhang, and Jane Fang Jiang, Alibaba's deputy chief people officer guiding them to split up the company, making it more agile and competitive and enhancing its reach to capital.

Ma on Monday made a surprise visit to a school in Alibaba's hometown of Hangzhou, his first known trip back to mainland China in almost a year. 

Ma appeared a day before Alibaba disclosed its plans to split into six separate entities, each with its CEO and board and free to pursue respective future IPOs.

Ma, who traveled to Hong Kong late last week, initially planned to head to Japan early this week. The sudden change in plans sparked speculation about whether he had struck any deal with China's government.

Ma, China's most famous tech billionaire, had largely retreated from the public eye since Alibaba and Ant Group attracted regulatory attention more than two years ago.

Ma's recent return followed repeated outreaches from Beijing over recent months through retired Communist Party officials and fellow tycoons, WSJ writes.

Alibaba's reorganization was led by Zhang, an Alibaba spokesperson said. Experts highlighted Ma's deal-making prowess, known for his ability to mobilize resources to innovate and beat foreign competitors.

In 2021, CEO Mr. Zhang started to devolve more power to the heads of business units, paving the way for spinoffs in consultation with Ma.

Price Action: BABA shares closed higher by 3.50% at $103.42 on Thursday.