Jack Ma, Alibaba Founder, to Step Down from Director Position at Japan's SoftBank

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Jack Ma, founder and former chairman of China's Alibaba Group, has decided to step down from his director position at Japan's SoftBank Group next month. After stepping down as Alibaba chairman last September, Ma will also distance himself from SoftBank's management, with which he has maintained a friendly relationship.

According to Bloomberg and other sources on the 18th, SoftBank announced in a statement that the shareholders' meeting will be held on the 25th of next month, and from that point, Ma will resign from his director position. SoftBank has nominated three new director candidates, including Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Yoshimoto Goto.

Ma, who has maintained a friendly relationship with SoftBank Chairman Masayoshi Son, has served as a director of SoftBank Group for over 10 years. Chairman Son first met Ma at a hotel in Beijing in 2000 and decided on the spot to invest in Alibaba. At that time, Alibaba was only two years old, and SoftBank invested $20 million, acquiring a 34.4% stake in Alibaba. Since then, Son has served as a director of Alibaba, and Ma has been active as a director of SoftBank.

One foreign media outlet explained that Ma's resignation from official positions comes as he focuses on charitable activities after stepping down as Alibaba chairman last September. Bloomberg described Ma's resignation as "a historic moment," noting that "Alibaba has been regarded as Chairman Son's most successful investment."

Along with Ma's resignation from the director position, SoftBank announced plans to repurchase its own shares worth 500 billion yen (approximately 5.75 trillion won) by March next year. SoftBank, which has faced management difficulties due to a stock price plunge following the recent spread of COVID-19, made this announcement ahead of its consolidated financial results for January to March. According to Nihon Keizai Shimbun, SoftBank is expected to record a net loss of 1.4 trillion yen due to poor investment performance in WeWork, Uber, and others. The plan to recover investment funds has also been disrupted, and the launch of a new Vision Fund is temporarily suspended.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.