Alibaba, a Chinese tech giant, has been in the news ever since the company had to cancel its initial public offering (IPO). However, the company’s founder, Jack Ma, had been out of public sight, but in a series of recent developments, the founder was found to be “alive” and “happy,” as asserted by the company’s president. Ma went off the grid after Beijing’s intense crackdown on his tech empire.
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At the Viva Tech conference that was held in Paris, Michael Evans, the President of Alibaba, said, “Well, first of all, Jack is alive. He’s well; he’s happy. He’s creative. He’s thinking. He’s teaching at a university in Tokyo, spending more time in China.” Evans responded to a question about Jack Ma that was posed by Maurice Levy, the chairman of the French advertising group Publicis. This exchange highlighted the ongoing curiosity about the billionaire’s location following the severe regulatory onslaught by Beijing against him and Alibaba.
Evans further added, “He cares… as much about this company today, as he did when he started, and I expect that that will continue for as long as Alibaba and Jack Ma are here.”
All this stretches back to November 2020, when Alibaba’s financial technology affiliate, Ant Group, was forced to cancel its IPO. This IPO was set to be the world’s largest. In addition to Alibaba, Jack Ma founded Ant Group as well. Because of this, Alibaba was slammed with a $2.8 billion antitrust fine in 2021. In the meantime, China’s IT industry has had to comply with a plethora of new rules covering everything from competition to data privacy. Then, Jack Ma went completely missing in action for a few months, and this gave rise to speculations about Ma being missing.
Later, according to a report by CNBC, a source informed the publication that Jack Ma had been keeping a low profile. Ma visited Europe later in 2021, and he also spent a significant amount of time outside of China in 2022. When he was discovered in his native country earlier this year, speculation began to circulate that Beijing’s tech sector would no longer be under close control. Though analysts feel that China’s crackdown on its tech sector has been eased, Jack Ma’s whereabouts are often the point of discussion.
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During the Paris conference, Evans also asserted that Jack Ma continues to be the biggest shareholder of the company, which shows the founder’s commitment to the company. Evans added, “This is his company. So he cares … as much about this company today as he did when he started, and I expect that that will continue for as long as Alibaba and Jack Ma are here.”
