Jack Ma, the billionaire co-founder of Alibaba, has resigned as the president of the General Association of Zhejiang Entrepreneurs, a non-profit association set up by leading businessmen the eastern Chinese province, it was announced on Wednesday. Nan Cunhui, chairman of electrical components manufacturer Chint Group, will take over as the organization’s president. Ma had held the position since 2015 and often used his post to make public speeches on topics varying from the macroeconomic situation and Zhejiang business development to the social responsibility of entrepreneurs. Ma has taken a significant step back from the limelight since a 2020 speech at the Bund Finance Summit in Shanghai and an ensuing government probe of Ant Financial, with the Financial Times reporting that the billionaire has been living in Japan with his family for almost half a year. The South China Morning Post cited a source close to Ma as saying that the entrepreneur has no plans to live abroad permanently however, adding that he will travel to Southeast Asia to examine agriculture-related businesses in the coming months. [SCMP]