China Crushed Jack Ma. Rivals Like Tencent, ByteDance, JD.com Are Next

What regulators describe as "rectification" is under way, and it's also affecting the finance operations of Tencent Holdings Ltd., JD.com Inc., TikTok owner ByteDance Ltd. and ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing.

It's been eight months since Jack Ma, the most famous business executive China has ever produced, all but dropped from public view. Eight months and, by conservative estimates, some $70 billion. That's the optimistic view on how much Ma's Ant Group Co. has plummeted in value since the outspoken billionaire openly pushed back against Beijing-and Chinese authorities promptly quashed Ant's plans for a blockbuster initial public offering. Inside Ant, the financial-technology giant Ma spun out of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., the real costs are still being tallied. Followers of "Daddy Ma," China's answer to Jeff Bezos, have been brought to heel by higher powers: China's president, Xi Jinping, and his right-hand man on the economy, Liu He. A team from the nation's top financial regulators now demand regular updates from Ant Chief Executive Officer Eric Jing and his staff on the progress of a state-ordered business overhaul, according to people familiar with the matter. New initiatives must be vetted by officials. And authorities have discussed installing a government representative in Ant's senior executive ranks to keep tabs on the company, says one of the people, who asked not to be identified speaking on a sensitive issue. So it goes across big tech in China, where freewheeling, internet-age capitalism, and the wealth and influence it brings, has collided with the aims and ambitions of the Chinese Communist Party. What regulators describe as "rectification" is under way, and it's also affecting the finance operations of Tencent Holdings Ltd., JD.com Inc., TikTok owner ByteDance Ltd. and ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing. U.S. and European officials have been wondering for years what to do with the big tech companies that have amassed so much power. China's answer is to assert control.