Analysts upbeat on Jack Ma stepping down

Jack Ma, China's richest businessman, is stepping down as chairman of Alibaba Group Holding next year, marking the end of an era for the over $400 billion e-commerce juggernaut.

Ma's retirement plan was officially announced on Monday. The English teacher-turned-entrepreneur made the announcement on the day dedicated to educators in China, Teachers' Day, which also was the day the charismatic leader turned 54.

The changing of the guard would mean Daniel Zhang, the current chief executive officer, would succeed him as chairman on Sept 10, 2019, which also marks Alibaba's 20th anniversary.