[ad_1]
[Beijing 4th Reuters]-The founder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, Jack Ma, has not appeared in public for the past two months, and Chinese officials have joined the group. Speculation is spreading about Ma’s whereabouts on social media as regulations tighten.
Mr. Ma has not appeared in public since he participated in a forum held in Shanghai in late October last year. A lecture given at the forum allegedly criticized China’s regulatory system and sparked public opposition. Since then, its affiliated finance company, Ant Group, has been forced to postpone a new share listing (IPO) totaling $ 37 billion.
Mr. Ma did not appear in the final episode of the television show, which was scheduled to appear as a judge in November. The British newspaper Financial Times (FT) reported on day 1 that Mr Ma had left the program.
An Alibaba spokeswoman explained to Reuters on the 4th that the cancellation was due to a schedule mismatch and declined to comment further.
Speculation is rampant on Twitter following reports of Mr. Ma’s whereabouts. But it is not a major topic on social media in mainland China. Access to Twitter is blocked in the country.
Since Mr. Ma’s conference in October last year, Chinese authorities have begun investigating Alibaba on suspicion of monopoly acts and asked Ant to reform the consumer finance and loan business. The pressure increases.
Duncan Clark, president of BDA China, a technology consulting firm in Beijing, said: “They must have told Mr. Ma to shut up.” “It’s a unique situation related to Ant’s size and sensitivity to financial regulation,” he said.
Hong Kong-listed Alibaba shares fell 2.15% in trading on the 4th.