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Jack Ma’s businesses are under great pressure, but the billionaire has not come forward and has been quiet since October last year.
Jack Ma has been a symbol of China’s success, as he went from being an English teacher to being the richest entrepreneur in the world. While running Alibaba, he regularly spoke in public and was a keynote speaker at many major international events, such as the World Economic Forum (WEF).
After leaving the president of Alibaba in 2019, Jack Ma maintains this habit of promoting charitable projects, his main activity when leaving the business. His last post on Weibo is from October 17, about his speech at an educational forum in China.
However, the last time Jack Ma appeared in public or made a move on social media was in late October 2020. Then he was speaking at a forum in Shanghai.
Later, Jack Ma was even absent from the final of the African talent show he founded, according to Financial times. The billionaire was replaced by an Alibaba leader during the last Africa’s Business Heroes taping session in November. This is a televised competition for entrepreneurs. His photo was removed from the judge’s presentation on the website and also disappeared from the promotional video of the contest.
Jack Ma at an Ant Group event. Image: Bloomberg.
Before that, on October 12, he also said that he was eager to meet with the candidates on the last night. In CNN“Jack Ma missed the last episode due to scheduling conflicts,” Alibaba explained. However, the company declined to comment where it was.
Since October, all three Jack Ma Twitter accounts have also been inactive. This move is considered unusual for someone who tweeted several dozen times a day like a billionaire.
Observers were quick to give an explanation for this sudden disappearance. Duncan Clark, author of the book “Alibaba: The House That Jack Ma Built” said that Jack Ma is only quiet in China. Editor’s David Faber CNBC have a similar opinion, after a series of events occurred recently in the Jack Ma empires.
Attention was drawn to the billionaire’s speech in Shanghai, which took place just a week before the initial public offering of Ant Group, an Alibaba-controlled payments company, was postponed at the last minute. At the forum, he openly criticized Chinese officials for stifling creativity when they are too afraid of risks.
“What we need is to build a strong financial system, not systematic financial risks,” he said. “Innovation without risk kills disruption. Any advance in the world that does not carry risks.”
Jack Ma also said that traditional banks operate like “pawn shops” because they always require collateral before borrowing. He also confidently stated that he could help solve China’s financial problems through innovation.
A few days later, Chinese officials summoned Jack Ma and other Ant Group leaders to conduct “regulatory investigations.” And then the Ant Group IPO was suddenly delayed. Since the world’s largest planned initial public offering, Ant Group has been asked to reform its business. Chinese officials also criticized this company for competing unfairly and harming the interests of consumers.
Alibaba is also under investigation by the authorities for alleged monopoly. Last month, this company and two other companies were also fined by the authorities for failing to report recent M&A deals. Last week, WSJ reported that Beijing is looking to shrink Jack Ma’s empire and possibly increase stakes in his company.
The event in Shanghai may have caught the attention of the billionaire’s businesses. Jeffrey Halley, an analyst at OANDA, said Jack Ma’s comments “clearly did not make Beijing agree.” For this reason, he said that billionaires voluntarily “remain silent, allow employees to work with officials and find an acceptable solution.”
WSJ He also said that Jack Ma’s statement enraged senior Chinese leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping. The tense relationship between the billionaire and the government has culminated, as Beijing has always been concerned about the influence and speed of Ma’s development of electronic payment platforms.
Although he no longer holds a leadership position in the companies he co-founded, Jack Ma is still Alibaba’s largest shareholder with a stake of nearly 5%, or $ 25 billion. In its report last year, Ant Group also said that Jack Ma “has supreme control” over the company. His personal wealth is forecast to skyrocket after Ant’s IPO.
However, just 2 months after being controlled by China, Jack Ma’s fortune has evaporated nearly $ 11 billion. Jack Ma currently owns only 51.5 of Jack Ma’s most recent appearances, perhaps causing officials to keep an eye on his multi-billion dollar deals and dropping to 25th on the world’s wealthiest list.
Ant Group’s capitalization is forecast to evaporate to $ 140 billion. At the same time, this fintech company must also return hundreds of billions of dollars to investors. And according to the source of BloombergAnt’s IPO only has a slim chance of reviving next year.
It is unclear if Jack Ma will attend subsequent meetings about the future of his businesses. However, when Jack Ma was absent, these companies showed that they were listening to Beijing. Ant said last week that he appreciated the “guidance and support” from officials after Beijing made its requests to the company public. Alibaba in late December promised to “actively cooperate” with antitrust officials.
Observers say Beijing wants the Ant Group IPO issue to dominate the press and people’s conversations. Ant probably also understands that they shouldn’t have another opinion on this.
“In Chinese culture, if you are rich, have great economic power and social influence, you will become a danger. To be safe, you must remain silent,” said Gary Liu, an independent economist. in Shanghai said above NOW.
In China, people see Ant as a company that has benefited greatly from the cautious attitude of the authorities in managing digital finance. “But Jack Ma still complains,” he said. “In Chinese culture, that is disrespectful.”
Not only China, the United States is also threatening Jack Ma’s business. In recent weeks, Washington has accelerated its campaign against Chinese companies. While Alibaba was not a specific target, it was mentioned by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a speech last summer urging US companies to remove “unreliable” Chinese technology from the system. system.
Ha Thu
