Jack Ma

China’s best-known businessman Jack Ma was not mentioned in a front-page article published by the Shanghai Securities News. Instead, Huawei Technologies’ Ren Zhengfei, Xiaomi Corp’s Lei Jun and BYD’s Wang Chuanfu were lauded for their contributions.

Ma’s last public appearance before this was in October 2020, when he criticised China's regulatory system and state-run banks.

Jack Ma -- one of Asia's richest people with a fortune estimated at around $58 billion -- disappeared from the public eye after he was hauled in front of regulators for an October speech critical of China's financial system.

In early January, Alibaba founder Jack Ma was found missing from public action for more than two months.

The former English teacher founded Alibaba Group in 1999, when China had few internet users. Online payments service Alipay launched five years later, before regulators said such businesses would be allowed. Both long shots grew to dominate their industries.

Jack Ma’s latest gambit backfired after he had called regulators too conservative in an October 24 speech and urged them to be more innovative

The scrutiny of Ant Group and Alibaba comes as China closely examines the influence of the country’s internet sector.

The regulatory system was stifling innovation and must be reformed to fuel growth, billionaire Ma told a summit in Shanghai on October 24 attended by the great and the good of China’s financial, regulatory and political establishment.

Zhong's Nongfu Spring, which claims to be number one in China's massive bottled water market, is ubiquitous across a country where most people shun tap water for health reasons.

Ant Group was valued at $150 billion in its previous funding round.

The divestment comes as Ma retired as the Chinese e-commerce company's executive chairman in September and pulled back from formal business roles to focus on philanthropy.

The departure of Ma, who retired as Alibaba's executive chairman in September, comes as he pulls back from formal business roles to focus on philanthropy.

Ma noted that the pandemic can "no longer be resolved by any individual country."

SoftBank owns 26% of China's Alibaba, with its origin in a $20 million investment in 2000, and the stake is now worth more than the Japanese firm's market capitalization.

SoftBank owns 26% of China's Alibaba, with its origin in a $20 million investment in 2000, and the stake is now worth more than the Japanese firm's market capitalization.

The development would be in line with the company's interest in expanding beyond China.

"People judge you by your diploma. They would think ’hey, we’re got a group of people from Harvard, we’ve got people from Stanford, and you are from nowhere," said Ma.

The resignation plan announced by Ma last year was perceived as unusual as it is rare for a founder of such a big and transformative tech firm to retire this early.

Their chat, which was live streamed, was part of the opening events for the annual World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai.

The real-time payments data and a risk-management system analyses over 3,000 variables to approve instant disbursement of loan requests