Jack Ma, the Chinese billionaire, will be stepping down from the post of president of the elite business school Hupan University, which he co-founded six years ago, reported the Financial Times.

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This comes after the Chinese government’s crackdown on Jack Ma and his business empire, the report added.

Located in Jack Ma’s hometown of Hangzhou the Hupan University training program for executives and entrepreneurs is considered as hard to get into as Harvard University. The Hupan University is planning to restructure the programme and has changed its name, the Financial Times report mentioned quoting sources.

While Ma will remain connected to the school he wouldn't hold any official high-level titles, according to the report.

The institution recently changed the business school’s name to Hupan Innovation Center as it was not an actual ‘university’ capable of granting degrees.

Alibaba group founder’s ouster comes as a result of pressure from the Chinese Communist Party. The beleaguered billionaire has been under constant scrutiny of the Chinese government after he criticised the government publicly in October. Since then the CCP has been cracking down on the influence of China's most famous billionaire.

Jack Ma's Ant Group was expected to go for its initial public offering but the process was stopped by the Chinese government as it stepped in to curb Ma's influence. Ma himself has rarely made any public appearances or statements since October, as he has kept out of the public eye.

(Edited by : Aditi Gautam)

First Published:May 24, 2021 3:02 PM IST