BEIJING (Reuters) – The absence of Alibaba founder Jack Ma from public view over the past two months, including the absence of the final episode of a TV show in which he was due to appear as a judge, has fueled speculation on social media about where he was in the midst of Chinese regulation reducing his business empire.
The top Chinese entrepreneur did not appear in a public setting at a forum in late October in Shanghai, where he threw China’s regulatory system into a speech that put him in a collision course with officials, having as a result of the suspension of a $ 37 billion IPO of the Alibaba Ant Group fintech arm.
The Financial Times reported on Friday that Ma was replaced as a judge in the final November episode of an entrepreneurial gaming show called Africa’s Business Heroes.
An Alibaba spokeswoman told Reuters on Monday that the change was due to a scheduling conflict, refusing further comment.
While coverage of Ma’s absence from public view has sparked speculation on Twitter, which is blocked in China, it has not been a significant topic on social media in mainland China, where sensitive topics are subject to censorship.
Chinese regulators have focused on Ma’s business since his October speech, including launching an antitrust probe on Alibaba and ordering Ant to shake off lending companies and other consumer finance deals, including setting up a separate holding company. to meet capital requirements.
“I think he was told to retire,” said Duncan Clark, chairman of Beijing BDA China Technology Consulting. “This is a rather unique situation, more related to Ant’s pure scale and sensitivities to financial regulation,” he said.
Alibaba’s Hong Kong listed shares fell 2.15% on Monday.
(Corrects the sixth paragraph to show that the operational restructuring of Ant includes the creation of a separate holding company)
Reporting by Tony Munroe and Brenda Goh; Montage by Carmel Crimmins