Alibaba President Jack Ma is attending the award ceremony of Rural Professor Jack Ma on January 13, 2019, in Sanya, Hainan Province, China.
VCG | Visual China Group | Getty Images
The absence of Alibaba founder Jack Ma from public view in the last two months, including the absence of the final episode of a TV show in which he was to appear as a judge, fueled speculation on social media about where he is, amid a Chinese regulatory restrictions on its business expanded 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 Technology Consulting BDA China. “This is a rather unique situation, more related to Ant’s pure scope and sensitivities to financial regulation,” he said.
Alibaba’s Hong Kong listed shares fell 2.15% on Monday.