Jack Ma is reemerging wherever he has been for the past few months

Jack Ma, the billionaire co-founder and former president Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has reappeared from wherever it was since late October 2020, when it ceased public appearances amid a government crackdown on tech companies.

By CNN, Ma was featured in a video released by Tianmu News, an affiliate of the official media apparatus in Zhenjiang Province, where Alibaba is based in Hangzhou. Ma appeared via a video link to address attendees at an event organized by the Rural Teachers Initiative of her 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 this was filmed.

In November 2020, Chinese regulators brought the hammer down on the fintech subsidiary of Alibaba Ant Group, forcing it to suspend an initial public offering that is expected to raise $ 37 billion and set a world record in share sales. It immediately wiped out some $ 68 billion from Alibaba’s market value. The Shanghai Stock Exchange (which is managed by a non-profit organization control by the Chinese government) told CNN in a statement at the time the IPO was postponed due to “major issues” which meant that Ant Group “did not meet the requirements for listing or disclosure,” and China’s Foreign Ministry called it “self-regulation”. The company subsequently received a “Rectification order” of the People’s Bank of China. Alibaba is now facing a antitrust investigation even if he tries to appease regulators.

The month before the IPO’s cancellation, Ma criticized regulators as having a “pawnshop mentality” and called for a reduction in borrowing restrictions, according to the Associated press, going directly against the Chinese government’s efforts to contain debt. His subsequent disappearance from public view has been widely interpreted as the CEO trying to keep a low profile and give up some of the warmth he had gained, with much further speculation he could have been detained. Interpretations of the Chinese government’s apparent crackdown on Ma ranged from politically motivated the criticism of a billionaire challenging the Chinese Communist Party’s monopoly on power to an unexpected development in a years of pushing by the Chinese watchdogs of finance and competition to focus on sprawling tech giants, as well as the financial risks posed by Ant’s massive IPO.

According to the Journal, Ma did not present himself as if he was recording a video as a hostage, and sources told the newspaper that he chose to be silent on his own will:

Mr. Ma appeared relaxed and said he was unable to meet the teachers in person this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. He said his education commitments would not change and added that he hoped to see them in the future.

Another video embedded in the same Chinese media report showed Mr. Ma what he said was a recent visit to an elementary school in Tonglu County, near Hangzhou, where Ant and his Alibaba affiliate are based. He did not specify when Mr. Ma, who was wearing a black cap and a padded winter jacket, visited the school.

… Mr Ma’s recent appearance could help put an end to some of the unverified rumors about why he has been out of public sight for months, said Jeffrey Towson, former professor at the Guanghua School of Management at Peking University … “That was a necessary answer to the question, ‘Where’s Jack Ma?’ said Professor Towson. ‘Ma is so notorious that her mere absence creates a lot of ideas. crazy. “

In addition, the newspaper reported that Alibaba and Alipay employees celebrated Ma’s reappearance on internal boards.

According to the Journal, the People’s Bank of China has signaled that it is not backing down on Ma or its companies by issuing draft rules stating that non-bank payment companies have a large share of the payments market, either alone or in concert with a competitor. , “Could be considered dominant in the market and could be dismantled or subject to further regulatory review.” Alipay, a subsidiary of Ant Group, processed approximately $ 17 trillion in digital payments, just over half of the market, in the first half of 2020.