Jack Ma, the billionaire co-founder and ex-president of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, has resurfaced from wherever it has been since late October 2020, when it stopped public appearances amid government repression against technology companies.
By CNN, Ma was present in a video released by Tianmu News, a subsidiary of the official state media apparatus in Zhenjiang province, where Alibaba is based in Hangzhou. Ma appeared through a video link to speak to participants at an event promoted by the Rural Teacher Initiative, from his philanthropic foundation; Tianmu wrote that it was filmed on Wednesday (local time). He also appeared briefly in a second video visiting a school near Hangzhou, although the Wall Street Journal reported it was not clear when it was filmed.
In November 2020, Chinese regulators dropped the hammer on affiliated Alibaba Group fintech Ant Group, forcing it to suspend an initial public offering that was supposed to raise $ 37 billion and set a world record in share sales. It immediately wiped out about $ 68 billion of Alibaba’s market value. The Shanghai Stock Exchange (which is managed by a non-profit organization controlled by the Chinese government) told CNN in a statement at the time the IPO was postponed due to “important issues”, which meant that the Ant Group did not “meet listing conditions or disclosure requirements”, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China characterized it as a matter of “self-regulation”. The company later received a “Order of rectification” of the People’s Bank of China. Alibaba is now facing a antitrust investigation even when trying appease regulators.
A month before the cancellation of the IPO, Ma criticized regulators as having a “pawnshop mentality” and called for a reduction in loan restrictions, according to the Associated Press, directly contrary to the Chinese government’s efforts to control debt. His subsequent disappearance from the public eye was widely interpreted as the CEO trying to hide and get rid of some of the heat he had acquired, with ample further speculation that he may have been arrested. Interpretations of the Chinese government’s apparent repression of Ma varied from the politically motivated crushing a billionaire challenging the Communist Party of China’s monopoly on power for an unexpected development in a years push by Chinese financial and competition watchdogs to focus on expanding tech giants, as well as concern about the financial risks posed by Ant’s huge initial public offering.
According to the Journal, Ma did not look like he was recording a hostage video, and sources told the newspaper that he chose to shut up of his own accord:
Mr. Ma looked relaxed and said that he was unable to meet with teachers in person this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. He said his commitments to education will not change and added that he hopes to see them in the future.
Another video embedded in the same Chinese media report showed Mr. Ma about what he said was a recent visit to an elementary school in Tonglu County, near Hangzhou, where Ant and his affiliate Alibaba are based. It was not specified when Mr. Ma, who was shown wearing a black cap and a padded winter jacket, visited the school.
…. Mr. Ma’s recent appearance may help quell some of the unverified rumors about why he has been out of the public eye for months, said Jeffrey Towson, a former professor at the University’s Guanghua School of Management. from Beijing … “It was a necessary answer to the question ‘Where is Jack Ma?’ ”, Said Prof. Towson. “Ma has such a high profile that her simple absence creates a lot of crazy ideas.”
G / O Media can receive a commission
In addition, the newspaper reported that Alibaba and Alipay employees celebrated Ma’s reappearance on the internal boards.
According to the Journal, the People’s Bank of China has signaled that it is not giving up on Ma or his companies, publicizing draft rules that say non-bank payment companies with a large share of the payments market, alone or in partnership with a competitor, “It could be considered as having market dominance and could be broken up or face additional regulatory scrutiny”. Alipay, a subsidiary of the Ant Group, processed about $ 17 trillion in digital payments, or just over half the market, in the first half of 2020.