What’s new: China’s most famous businessman, Jack Ma, has reemerged after months of speculation about his whereabouts after he disappeared from the public eye around November — the same time Chinese regulators launched a crackdown on his tech empire.
The billionaire founder of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Ant Group Co. Ltd. spoke at an annual online event promoting the achievements of rural teachers Wednesday, according to video of the event seen by Caixin.
Sources told Caixin that the video was authentic and that the conversation was originally broadcast live.
What’s the background: Ma disappeared from public view after publicly chastising top regulatory officials in October, just days before Ant Group’s shares were due to start trading in Shanghai and Hong Kong in what would have been the world’s largest ever IPO.
It was unclear whether Ma’s criticism contributed to the decision by watchdogs to call the billionaire and other top Ant Group executives in for a dressing down on Nov. 2, or whether some advance knowledge of a crackdown may have led him to make the comments. But the $34.5 billion offering was pulled in the wake of the meeting, and draft regulations were launched to rein in the growing power of online finance platforms.
Read More What You Need to Know About Ant Group’s Suspended IPO and the Future of Chinese Fintech
Although Ma has no official position at either Ant Group or Alibaba, he is the “ultimate controller” of the fintech platform, according to the company’s IPO prospectus, and still had a 4.8% stake in the e-commerce giant as of July 2.
Regulators have since launched a separate antitrust probe of Alibaba.
Last month, Ant Group Chairman Eric Jing heaped praise on China’s financial watchdogs in his first public speech since the firm’s IPO was halted. Jing said the firm was working closely with regulators and doing its best to deal with the aftermath of the listing suspension, and said regulation would guard against the risks that arise from rapidly growing fintech companies like his own.
Read more: Battered by Regulators, Ant Group Comes Out in Support of Regulation
Contact reporter Flynn Murphy (flynnmurphy@caixin.com) and editor Marcus Ryder (marcusryder@caixin.com)
