Jack Ma, the co-founder of the billionaire and former chairman of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, has reappeared wherever he was since late October 2020, when he stopped making public appearances amid a government crackdown on tech companies.
Per CNNMa was present in a video released by Tianmu News, a subsidiary of the official state media apparatus of Zhenjiang Province, where Alibaba is based in Hangzhou. Ma appeared via video link to address attendees at an event hosted by his philanthropic foundation’s Rural Teacher Initiative; Tianmu wrote that it was filmed on Wednesday local time. He also appeared briefly in a second video while attending a school near Hangzhou, although the Wall Street Journal reported it was not clear when that was filmed.
In November 2020, Chinese regulators knocked down the hammer on Alibaba Group’s fintech affiliate Ant Group, forcing it to halt an IPO expected to net $ 37 billion and set a world record in sale parts. It immediately wiped some $ 68 billion from Alibaba’s market value. The Shanghai Stock Exchange (which is operated through a non-profit organization checked by the Chinese government) told CNN in a statement when the IPO was delayed due to “major problems,” meaning Ant Group “failed to meet listing terms or disclosure requirements,” and China’s Foreign Ministry characterized it as a matter of “self-regulation”. The company later received one “Rectification Order” of the People’s Bank of China. Alibaba is now facing one antitrust investigation even if it tries regulators calm down.
The month before the IPO was canceled, Ma criticized regulators for having a “ pawnshop mentality ” and called for lowering restrictions on borrowing, the government said. Associated Press, which runs counter to the Chinese government’s efforts to contain debt. His subsequent disappearance from public opinion was widely interpreted as the CEO attempting to pass up and dispose of some of the heat he had accumulated, with much added speculation that he may have been detained. Interpretations of the Chinese government’s apparent crackdown on Ma have varied from the politically motivated down a billionaire who challenges the power monopoly of the Communist Party of China to a non-unexpected development in a pushing for years by Chinese financial and competition watchdogs to highlight sprawling tech giants, as well as concerns about the financial risks of Ant’s massive IPO.
According to the Journal, Ma didn’t come out like he was shooting a hostage video, and sources told the paper he chose to keep down on his own accord:
Mr Ma seemed relaxed, saying he was unable to meet the teachers in person this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. He said his obligations to education will not change, adding that he hopes to see them in the future.
Another video embedded in the same Chinese media post showed Mr. Ma about a recent visit to a primary school in Tonglu County, near Hangzhou, where Ant and its subsidiary Alibaba are located. It didn’t indicate when Mr. Ma, who wore a black cap and a quilted winter jacket, attended the school.
… The recent appearance of Mr. Ma could help stop some of the unverified rumors about why he’s been out of the public eye for months, said Jeffrey Towson, a former professor at Peking University’s Guanghua School of Management … “It was a necessary answer to the question “Where is Jack Ma?” “, Said Prof. Towson.” Ma is so highly regarded, his absence alone makes for a lot of crazy ideas. “
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In addition, the newspaper reported that Alibaba and Alipay employees were celebrating Ma’s return to internal boards.
According to the Journal, the People’s Bank of China indicated that it is not abandoning Ma or his companies by releasing draft rules that say non-bank payment companies have a large share of the payments market, alone or in partnership with a competitor, “Could be viewed as market dominance and could be broken down or subject to additional scrutiny by regulators.” Alipay, a subsidiary of Ant Group, processed approximately $ 17 trillion in digital payments in the first half of 2020, or just over half of the market.