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Jack Ma has resurfaced after months out of public view, which has fueled intense speculation about the billionaire’s fate as he grapples with growing surveillance of his internet empire.
China’s best-known entrepreneur spoke to teachers via a live broadcast on Wednesday at an annual event he hosts to recognize rural educators, according to people familiar with the matter. In a video of the event posted online, Ma explained how he would devote more time to philanthropy. The Alibaba and Ant co-founder did not mention his recent clashes with Beijing during his speech, which was first reported on a local blog. Ant confirmed the authenticity of the video in an email.
Alibaba shares gained more than 4% in Hong Kong. While it is still not known where Ma is, her appearance in a public forum could help quell lingering rumors about her fate as Beijing continues investigations into the online finance titan. Ant Group Co. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. The executive had been out of public view since early November, when Chinese regulators torpedoed Ant’s $ 35 billion IPO, tightened fintech regulations, and then ordered an overhaul of Ant. Ant and launched a separate antitrust investigation into Alibaba – all in a matter of days.
“Recently my colleagues and I have studied and reflected. We have made a firmer resolution to dedicate ourselves to educational philanthropy, ”Ma said in the video. “Working hard for rural revitalization and common prosperity is the responsibility of our generation of businessmen.”
Read more: Jack Ma is silent after spectacular cancellation of Ant Group
Ma’s assault on the trillion-dollar corporate empire sums up a broader campaign to curb a generation of Chinese tech giants that Beijing now sees as exercising too much control over the world’s No.2 economy. The wave of actions against its sister companies has shown how Beijing has lost patience with the disproportionate power of its tech moguls, now seen as a threat to political and financial stability President Xi Jinping bestows most.
The government has increasingly sought to exert influence over the extent to which companies Tencent Holdings Ltd. to ByteDance Ltd. amassing data and commerce and direct media. In the same month, Ant canceled its record-breaking IPO, the nation’s leading antitrust watchdog issued new guidelines warning tech giants against monopoly practices ranging from forced exclusivity deals to collusion on data. While Ant and Alibaba have suffered the brunt of the assault since November, investors have since sold their peers from Tencent to Meituan.
Ma’s position with Beijing remains unclear. In early December, the man most closely identified with China Inc.’s meteoric rise was invited by the government to stay in the country, a person familiar with the matter said. A debate over its whereabouts has arisen because Beijing has in the past quietly detained billionaires who have broken the law, without immediate trial.
Read more: World’s rich fled Alibaba after monopoly probe, says Citi
(Updates with second paragraph speech comments)
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