Alibaba shares witness a rise after founder Jack Ma returns to China

Jack Ma, one of China's best known entrepreneurs, left mainland China in late 2021 and has been seen in photographs in Japan, Australia and Thailand in the months since.

Team Newsable

First Published Mar 27, 2023, 5:20 PM IST | Last Updated Mar 27, 2023, 5:20 PM IST

Alibaba founder Jack Ma has returned to China, completing a trip abroad that lasted more than a year and was seen by the business community as reflecting the gloomy state of China's private enterprises, according to South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported. One of the most well-known businessmen in China, Ma, departed the mainland in late 2021 and has since been photographed in Thailand, Japan, and Australia.

He was formerly one of the most vocal businesspeople in the nation, but in late 2020, after attacking China's regulatory system, which was eventually held responsible for sparking a broad regulatory crackdown by Beijing, he withdrew from the public eye.

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Chinese businesspeople said they perceived Ma's choice to remain abroad as a factor undermining trust, despite recent claims by Chinese officials that they had finished the crackdown and would search for ways to boost the private sector.

The SCMP report's release was followed by a more than 4% increase in Alibaba shares in Hong Kong.

According to sources, Ma visited a school he created in Hangzhou, which is also the location of Alibaba and the financial technology company Ant Group. The report did not specify when Ma had returned to China. He made a brief detour in Hong Kong, it was stated, before travelling back to China.

Requests for comment from Alibaba did not immediately receive a response. The school, Yungu Education, said on its WeChat account on Monday that Ma had visited its grounds and had shared pictures and a video of the founder of Alibaba at the school. In a move to end a broader regulatory onslaught, Ma recently gave up leadership of Ant Group, a major player in Chinese fintech.

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(WIth agency inputs)

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