Alibaba stated on ????? ???????? ??????? ????????July 23 that it will retain all of its Ant shares, affirming the fintech giant’s status as an “important strategic partner” for its various businesses, as per Alibaba’s regulatory filings to HKEX. The Chinese e-commerce giant holds a 33% stake in Ant Group; both firms were originally founded by Jack Ma. Also on July 23, Ant’s shareholding meeting approved the share buyback proposal of up to 7.6%, announced earlier this month after Chinese regulators hit the Alibaba affiliate with a RMB 7.12 billion fine. Ma separated Ant from Alibaba in 2011, and this January, he relinquished control of his position as Ant’s largest shareholder. [Alibaba filing, in Chinese]