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Summary
- Jack Ma is in news again after an Alibaba executive on Tuesday said that the company founder is ‘‘lying low’ and focusing on his hobbies and philanthropy.
- Ma’s whereabouts have become a mystery ever since he made negative comments about Chinese financial regulators.
- It was on 20 January 2021 that Ma was last seen speaking through a video link to a group of rural teachers at a charitable event, the annual Rural Teacher Initiative.
Alibaba founder Jack Ma is ‘lying low’ and focusing on his hobbies and philanthropy – a company executive was on Tuesday quoted as saying in the media. Joe Tsai, Alibaba’s executive vice chairman, also quelled fears around the Chinese billionaire’s health by saying that Ma was doing ‘very well,’ adding that he talks to him every day.
These comments have once again put a spotlight on Ma. The former executive chairman of Alibaba Group, a multinational technology conglomerate, has become a mystery figure ever since he made negative comments about Chinese financial regulators.
Source: © Minipig5188 | Megapixl.com
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The criticism resulted in a crackdown by the market regulators on Ant Group’s initial public offering (IPO), which was suspended just a couple of days before it was scheduled. What was supposed to be the world’s biggest IPO, died a silent death as Chinese regulators waved a red flag, derailing a record USD 34.5 billion IPO. Ant Group is a subsidiary of Jack Ma-controlled conglomerate Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
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Criticism and sudden disappearance
What followed next was surprising. Ma, who was until then regular with his public appearances, was nowhere to be seen between October 2020 and January 2021. The period coincided with the regulatory crackdown.
Several global media outlets speculated that his disappearance could be a result of critical speech given by Ma at the annual People's Bank of China financial markets forum. The remarks came ahead of the initial public offering of Ant Group in Shanghai and Hong Kong.
However, Chinese bankers and officials reasoned that financial stability could be the reason behind the regulator’s move. Some believed that the disappearance may be voluntary in nature.
After three months, Ma reappeared in a video for his charitable foundation in January. It was on 20 January 2021, that Ma spoke through a video link to a group of rural teachers at a charitable event, the annual Rural Teacher Initiative. In February this year, he was seen golfing at the Sun Valley Golf Resort in Hainan.
Tsai also said that Alibaba, which was hit with a fine of US$2.8 billion by the regulators for allegedly abusing its market dominance was “moving forward from the fine”.
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Ma’s rags-to-riches story
The Chinese business magnate, a strong proponent of market-driven economy, is also a co-founder of Yunfeng Capital, a private equity firm. Jack Ma, born Ma Yun, who features among the 50 richest people in the world (according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index), had announced in September 2018 that he would retire from Alibaba and pursue education, philanthropy, and environmental related works.
Source: © Minipig5188 | Megapixl.com
The 56-year-old failed his university-entrance exam twice. Not only this, Ma was also rejected from dozens of jobs, including one at KFC. It shows how Ma had to face a series of challenges during his professional career.
However, he kept trying and in 1994 came across the global phenomenon of internet, which had already swept the US. In the same year, he started his first firm Hangzhou Haibo Translation Agency. In early 1995, he visited the US.
According to Ma's autobiographical speech, in April 1995, he opened the first office for his second company China Pages, along with his computer teacher, He Yibing.
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He acquired a computer for the first time at the age of 33. After several stints in different ventures, Ma, in 1999, returned to Hangzhou with his team to launch Alibaba.
in October 1999 and January 2000, Alibaba won a total of a US$25 million foreign venture capital investment from Goldman Sachs and Softbank. The program was expected to improve the e-commerce market in China. The company became profitable after three years.
Ma served as executive chairman of Alibaba Group.
The Group is a holding company with nine major subsidiaries including Alibaba.com, Taobao Marketplace, Tmall, eTao, Alibaba Cloud Computing, Juhuasuan, 1688.com, AliExpress.com, and Alipay.
Source: © Djbobus | Megapixl.com
Alibaba’s US listing
In September 2014, Alibaba was reported to have raised more than US$25 billion in an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Alibaba emerged as one of the most valuable technology companies in the world after raising the full US$25 billion, the largest initial public offering in in the financial history of US.
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