BEIJING (Reuters) – The absence of Alibaba founder Jack Ma from public view in the past two months, including the lack of the latest episode of a TV show in which he was to appear as a judge, has fueled social media speculation about its location amid Chinese regulation against its vast business empire.
China’s highest-profile businessman has not appeared in a public setting since a late-October forum in Shanghai, where he attacked China’s regulatory system in a speech that put him on the verge of collapsing. injury with officials, which led to the suspension of a $ 37 billion fintech Group IPO.
The Financial Times reported Friday that Ma was replaced as a judge in the latest November episode of a business gaming program called Africa’s Business Heroes
An Alibaba spokeswoman told Reuters on Monday that the change was due to a scheduling conflict, and denied further comments.
While news coverage of Ma’s absence from public view sparked speculation on Twitter, which is blocked in China, it was not a significant trend topic on social media in mainland China, where sensitive issues they 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 up its lending and other consumer finance businesses, including the creation of an independent holding company to meet capital requirements.
“I think he’s been told to put it down,” said Duncan Clark, president of Beijing-based technology consultancy BDA China. “This is a fairly unique situation, more tied to Ant’s large scale and sensitivities about financial regulation,” he said.
Shares of Alibaba’s Hong Kong shares fell 2.15% on Monday.
(The sixth paragraph is corrected to show the operational restructuring of Ant which includes the creation of an independent holding company)
Reports by Tony Munroe and Brenda Goh; Edited by Carmel Crimmins