Alibaba founder and Chinese billionaire Jack Ma has reportedly not been seen in public for over 2 months after he came into conflict with President Xi Jinping-led Central Communist Party government. This has led to speculations that Ma could be missing.
The high-profile businessman did not appear in the final episode of his own talent show, Africa's Business Heroes. UK's Telegraph reported that Alibaba founder was supposed to be a part of the judging panel in November final but he was replaced by an Alibaba executive. Surprisingly, Jack Ma's picture was also removed from the website.
The Chinese e-commerce giant told Financial Times that Ma couldn't appear on the show due to a conflict in schedules.
Jack Ma's whereabouts have come under questioning at a time when his companies - Alibaba and Ant Group have increasingly come under scrutiny in China.
It is to be noted that Jack Ma's huge business empire, Ant Group, has been under the scanner of the Chinese government ever since the billionaire businessman delivered a speech on October 24 slamming China's regulation system for stifling innovation. He had also called global banking rules an "old people's club".
"Today's financial system is the legacy of the Industrial Age," Ma had said in the speech. "We must set up a new one for the next generation and young people. We must reform the current system," he added.
Ma had publicly criticized the Chinese regulators and had called the country's banks "pawnshops". "Mortgages and guarantees are for a pawnshop, but if we go to extremes in relying solely on collateral assets, certain enterprises will pledge all of their assets, and the pressure [for them] is enormous," he had said.
After a few days, Alibaba and Ant Group's USD 34 billion initial public offering (IPO) was suspended by the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Ant Group was scheduled for a dual listing on November 5 - on Shanghai and Hong Kong bourses and it was halted in China with less than 48 hours to go.
The Shanghai Stock Exchange justified the sudden move saying Ant had reported "significant issues such as the changes in financial technology regulatory environment".
Ma was then advised to remain in China before launching an anti-monopoly investigation into his Alibaba Group Holding on Christmas Eve, according to Bloomberg. Beijing also ordered Ma's financial tech company Ant Group to scale back its operations.
Ma is one of China's wealthiest men. Forbes reported that Jack Ma Foundation has distributed or pledged more than USD 300 million for charity purposes.
Notably, Ma's last tweet was on October 10, 2020.
