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The Telegraph
Mystery surrounds the whereabouts of Chinese billionaire Jack Ma who disappeared from his own reality show
Chinese billionaire Jack Ma, who has not been seen in public for several weeks after criticizing China’s financial regulation system, has now disappeared as a judge on a television talent show he created. Mr. Ma was absent from the finale of “African Business Heroes” in the style of “The Apprentice”, a program that offers budding African entrepreneurs the opportunity to compete for a share of $ 1.5 million £ 1.1 million) in prizes. Originally, Ma was supposed to be on the panel that judged the contestants’ business ideas. But he was replaced as a judge by an executive from Alibaba, the e-commerce company he founded, at the end of November. His photograph was also removed from the judges’ website and was left out of a promotional video, according to the Financial Times, which also reported that the broadcast of the final was delayed until spring. The newspaper quoted an Alibaba spokesperson as saying that Mr. Ma could no longer be part of the judging panel “due to a scheduling conflict.” One of China’s most successful businessmen, Ma appears to have fallen out of favor with his leaders after he criticized the country’s regulators and its state banks in late October. In a speech in Shanghai, he called for a reform of the regulatory system, which he said was stifling innovation. About a week later, the Shanghai Stock Exchange ordered a $ 37 billion initial public offering of Ant Group, a fintech company co-founded by Ma, to be suspended. Ma has reportedly not been seen in public since. . In late December, the Chinese authorities announced an investigation into Alibaba on suspicion of monopoly behavior and ordered the Ant Group to restructure its operations to comply with regulatory guidelines. The Chinese authorities are trying to tighten supervision of the country’s financial sector, but they are also seen as wanting to control the enormous influence of private tech giants. Ma is a popular figure in China and one of the country’s best-known overseas businessmen. Formerly an English teacher, he founded Alibaba in 1999, which became the largest online e-commerce company in China. He resigned as the company’s president in 2019, but remains one of its largest shareholders.
