Pressured Ma steps down from university

Jack Ma Yun will step down as president of Hupan University, an elite business academy he co-founded six years ago, amid pressure from Beijing.

Ma was intent on remaining connected to the school, the Financial Times said, but he wouldn't hold any high-level title.

This comes as Chinese leaders continue to attack the influence of the billionaire co-founder of Alibaba.

Ma fell from grace abruptly after blasting financial regulators in a public speech in October. Since then his highly anticipated initial public offering by Ant Group has been put on hold and Ma has largely stayed out of public view.

Hupan University, a training place for executives and entrepreneurs - and located in Hangzhou, Ma's hometown - recently changed its name to Hupan Innovation Center, dropping the word "university" as it's not a degree-granting institution.

The school will also restructure its curriculum because authorities are concerned Ma was creating a network at odds with communist objectives.