Jack Ma to step down as president of his business school

Chinese billionaire Jack Ma, founder of ecommerce giant Aibaba, is  going to step down as president of the elite business school he founded  after having been caught in a Beijing clampdown on tech titans, the  Financial Times reported Monday.

Ma, formerly one of China's most  flambouyant entrepreneurs, has largely disappeared from public view  since Alibaba's fintech arm was investigated and fined by regulators for  alleged monopolistic practices.

The Financial Times report cited  sources saying that Hupan University -- an elite academy for Chinese  business executives established in Ma's hometown of Hangzhou in 2015 --  has changed its name and will restructure its curriculum.Ma will not  hold any high-level title at the restructured organisation, the report  said, as Beijing seeks to limit his influence.

"Hupan is like an  elite community, it's one of (the authorities') main targets," one  person who worked with Ma was quoted as saying by the FT.Viral videos  circulating on Chinese social media earlier this month showed  construction workers using a blow torch to remove characters on a large   "Hupan University" sign.

The FT also reported last month that  Hupan University was forced to suspend new student enrolments after  sustained pressure from Beijing to dismantle Ma's fintech empire.

In  a series of blows for the group, Alibaba was fined a record 18.2  billion yuan ($2.8 billion) by antitrust authorities last month, and its  fintech arm Ant Financial has been ordered to restructure its business  after a planned listing was scuppered.

Alibaba's reprimand is  widely believed to be triggered by an October speech by Ma where he  criticised state financial institutions for being outdated.

The  crackdown has since widened to include many of Alibaba's competitors in  China's ballooning tech sector, where government regulators fear their  outsize influence on consumers could usurp that of Chinese state banks.

Since  stepping down as chairman of Alibaba in 2019, Ma -- a former  schoolteacher -- has poured his energies into philanthropy and various  education projects.Hupan University and Alibaba did not respond to  requests for comment.