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Jack Ma is expected to announce his retirement plans as Alibaba's executive chairman and the future direction of the company on Monday, which also marks the billionaire's 54th birthday.
Ma will set up a long-term succession plan for Alibaba, the $ 420 billion e-commerce empire that he co-founded in 1999, which will be realized over a "significant period of time," a reported Saturday the South China Morning Post.
On Friday, the New York Times published an article and an interview with Ma who announced plans to retire Monday as executive chairman, but will remain on the company's board of directors. The Post says it will remain as executive chairman during the transition, citing a spokesman for the company.
A former teacher, Ma told Bloomberg TV earlier this week that he could return to teach someday. "It's something I think I can do a lot better than being CEO of Alibaba," he said.
Alibaba is one of the largest companies in China and one of the largest online retail platforms in the world. As it has grown, it has spread to a wide range of other industries, including movies, news and cloud computing. He has also invested money and resources in technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics. Its subsidiary Ant Financial, the largest online payment platform in China, is valued at $ 150 billion.
With a personal net worth of about 40 billion, Ma is one of the richest people in China. The business leader has kept great visibility, appearing at conferences around the world and addressing world leaders. He left his position as CEO of Alibaba in 2013. Daniel Zhang is the current CEO of the company.
The tycoon's retreat comes at a tumultuous time for Chinese companies. The United States is about to impose tariff on $ 200 billion of Chinese products, the latest tariff cycle in a growing trade dispute between the two countries.
China is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, but has begun to lose ground this year and signs of weakness are on the rise.
Editor 's Note: This story has been updated to reflect the information that Ma will remain Executive Chairman during Alibaba' s transition period.
CNNMoney (San Francisco) First published September 7, 2018: 8:40 ET
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