Jack Ma's Ant Financial names new CEO ahead of 2017 IPO

Eric Jing will take over as the new CEO from Lucy Peng, who will retain her role as executive chair

Alibaba Group Holding's financial affiliate has appointed a new chief executive officer as it prepares for a highly anticipated 2017 initial public offering.

Zhejiang Ant Small & Micro Financial Services Group named finance veteran and President Eric Jing to take the helm from Lucy Peng, who retains her role as executive chair, according to an e-mailed statement from the company Saturday.

The management shuffle comes as Ant Financial is said to plan an IPO in Hong Kong next year, which could be one of the city's biggest debuts since 2010. Since its inception as the operator of Alipay, the online payments system with 450 million active users, Ant Financial has expanded into wealth management, credit scoring and peer-to-peer lending.

Peng had in the past six years been "a rock-steady presence in the face of changing times" and would now focus on developing the company's long-term global strategy, Jack Ma, the Alibaba co-founder who controls Ant Financial, said in an internal memo. Jing "will lead the Ant Team to new heights, to new surprises."

Ant Financial, whose Alipay also forms the financial backbone of China's largest e-commerce service, is worth at least $75 billion, according to CLSA. The company has said repeatedly it has set neither a timeline nor a destination for a listing.

China's largest online financial services company competes with Tencent Holdings Ltd. in online payments as well as internet services from dining to food delivery. Its rapid expansion into multiple arenas of internet finance has increased the need for risk management, even as Tencent's own payments service on social media platform WeChat takes market share away from Alipay.

Jing, recently named an Alibaba board member, majored in economics and was formerly chief financial officer of Guangzhou Pepsi Cola Beverage Co. He joined Alibaba in 2007 in the corporate finance division. He then moved to Alipay in 2009 and drove key Ant Financial products including Yu'E Bao, China's largest money market fund. He also oversaw the development of the company's micro-loans and credit rating businesses.