Billionaire Jack Ma, co-founder of China's most successful tech giant, Alibaba, has been missing in recent months. Jack Ma's position has been in question at this time, as businesses are being scrutinized by Chinese authorities for alleged monopolistic practices.
Ma has been making public appearances and posting on social media since late October, shortly before the long-awaited stock market listing of the company's financial partner AntGroup by Chinese regulators.
It is noteworthy that he was also missing from the finale of an African talent show in November, which he created himself, and was replaced as a judge, even though he was eager, as he said, to meet the finalists.
Alibaba told CNN on January 4 that Ma had to be absent from the finale due to a problem concerning his schedule, but did not provide further details.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Beijing is seeking to shrink Ma’s empire and potentially take a larger stake in his businesses, citing Chinese officials and government advisers familiar with the matter.
As for AntGroup, Chinese regulators have criticized the company for pushing rivals out of the market and harming consumer rights.
While Ma no longer holds positions on the executive or board of directors in any of the companies of which he was a co‑founder – he stepped down as executive chairman of Alibaba in 2019 – he remains the largest shareholder of Alibaba, with almost 5% valued at about 25 billion dollars.
According to AntGroup, Ma has absolute control over the company, and his wealth would increase significantly after the public offering. Ma used to make public appearances and talk about his charitable work.
Many in the technology world believe that Ma's problems began after his last appearance at a conference in Shanghai, where he publicly criticized Chinese regulators for stifling technology and called China 's banks "pawnshops."
Some days later, the Chinese regulatory authorities called the executives of Ma and AntGroup's businesses for «regulatory interviews», as they described them. As financial analyst Jeffree Halli commented at the time, apparently Ma's comments did not echo the voices of Beijing's authority.
It has not become clear from official or corporate statements whether Ma has participated in meetings since then regarding the future of his businesses. And while Ma's traces have disappeared, his businesses are trying to convince Beijing that they «listen».
The potential threats to Ma’s businesses are not limited to China. Washington has been stepping up campaign against Chinese companies in recent weeks as the Trump administration draws to a close. And while Alibaba has not been specifically targeted, the company was criticized by U.S. Secretary of State MikePompeo late last summer when he urged American companies to remove “untrustworthy” Chinese technology from their digital networks.
