Business Insider columnist Adam Lashinsky says Alibaba founder Jack Ma will not make a public appearance in two months.
Chinese billionaire Jack Ma is “hiding” but “is not missing or detained” after calling for economic reform in China during a speech in October, Alibaba sources told FOX Business.
Yahoo Finance reported on Sunday that Ma, one of the richest men in China and founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba, was suspected of disappearing because he had not appeared in public for more than two months.
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“Today’s financial system is the legacy of the Industrial Age,” said Ma on October 24 in Shanghai, according to Yahoo Finance. “We must establish a new system for the next generation and young people. We must reform the current system.”
| Ticker | Safety | Last | change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NANNY | ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING LTD | 239.09 | +11.22 | + 4.92% |
Ma angered regulators with the speech at a business conference in Shanghai, with the presence of some regulators he was criticizing. Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan was also at the hearing.
Ma complained that regulators had an old “pawnshop mentality” and were holding back innovation, according to Chinese media.
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Both Alibaba and Ant Group, the financial services company he separated from Alibaba, came under scrutiny by the Chinese government after Ma’s speech. Alibaba is facing an antitrust investigation launched in December, while Ant Group’s IPO was suspended and the business was instructed to restructure.
Jack Ma, billionaire and president of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., arrives for the Tech For Good summit at Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 15, 2019. Photographer: Marlene Awaad / Bloomberg via Getty Images
Hong Kong’s Alibaba Group shares have fallen 19% since October. Ma’s fortune, which previously peaked at more than $ 60 billion, fell by more than $ 10 billion.
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Ma, 56, stepped down as president of Alibaba in 2019, but is part of the Alibaba Partnership, a group of 36 members with the right to appoint a majority of its board of directors. He is one of the largest shareholders.
Ma has committed millions of dollars to fight the coronavirus pandemic. In the spring, he said he would donate $ 14.4 million from his foundation to finance the development of the coronavirus vaccine in Wuhan. Ma also committed an additional $ 2.15 million to develop a vaccine at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Australia.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.