Ant, Alibaba plan for less intertwined future after China crackdown

In moves that would have been inconceivable two years ago, the affiliates have started to restrict access to each other’s services, compete for clients and even strike alliances with rivals, said sources. — Reuters

BEIJING/SINGAPORE: Ant Group and Alibaba are untangling their operations from each other and independently seeking new business as the Jack Ma-founded companies navigate China’s devastating regulatory crackdown, four sources familiar with the matter said.

Ecommerce giant Alibaba Group Holding created what would become payments and financial services provider Ant and spun it off in 2011, although it still retains a 33% stake and the two companies have some overlap in leadership.