The co-founder of Alibaba, Jack Ma, retires: New York Times

BEIJING (Reuters) – Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA.N) Co-founder and Executive Chairman Jack Ma will retire from the e-commerce company Monday, the former English professor seeking to focus on philanthropy in education, the New York Times reported.

Ma, one of China's best-known business leaders, will remain on the company's board of directors and will continue to oversee its management, the New York Times reported on Friday.

It was not immediately clear if the company will appoint a new president.

Ma, who founded Alibaba in 1999, resigned as CEO in 2013. He is currently the company's international representative at key political and busi- ness events.

Alibaba has not responded to requests for comment, but said Saturday in a message on social media that Ma had met with African business leaders and business partners in recent days.

According to Forbes magazine, Ma, the richest third person in China with a net worth of $ 36.6 billion, would have said that his retirement was not the end of an era, but the beginning of 'a period.

Although the retirement of a formal role is an important step, analysts and industry professionals say it is unlikely that Ma's involvement will change significantly.

"I do not think that means much, frankly. He retired from the role of CEO four or five years ago and made a very specific comment about the desire of the youngest to lead the company, "said Kevin Carter, founder of the Fund's Internet Exchange Emerging Markets.

"I'm sure he will be as involved as he has been in his role as president, even though he does not have the official title," Carter said.

Ma, who will turn 54 on Monday, oversees a number of charitable projects in the areas of education and the environment. It is a cult figure of China's Internet industry and has attracted a large number of entrepreneurs and pop culture.

At events, he often meets screaming fans.

TRICKY TIME

Ma has an important international profile, frequently inviting world leaders to the company's headquarters in Hangzhou. Last year, he met with US President Donald Trump, who described him as "intelligent" and "open-minded".

Alibaba was founded by 18 people led by Ma. China's largest e-commerce company now has more than 66,000 full-time employees, according to the company's latest annual ranking.

The company had a market value of about $ 420 billion at Friday's close. My control also includes Ant Financial, which was valued at about $ 150 billion after a recent fundraiser.

My step back at a difficult time for Chinese technology companies.

Authorities have increasingly sought to regulate the sector where Alibaba and Tencent Holdings Ltd (0700.HK) are fighting a fierce battle for consumers.

Trade tensions are also a new challenge for Chinese technology companies, especially those like Alibaba that are rapidly expanding abroad.

This year regulators have rejected a $ 1.2 billion offer for MoneyGram International Inc. MG.O money transfer service from Ant Financial for reasons of national security, related to "geopolitical" changes.

Ma's decision also comes as a US police investigation into a rape allegation against Richard Liu, his biggest rival JD.com Inc. (JD.O), hammered his actions.

Liu was arrested and released without charge in Minneapolis last week. Through his lawyers, he has denied any wrongdoing.

Liu serves both as president and chief executive officer at JD.com, and the incident has scared investors because there is no clear successor in the company.