Chinese entrepreneur Jack Ma is said to be “avoiding the spotlight and lying low” according to Alibaba co-founder Joe Tsai. Mr. Ma has been conspicuous by his absence since he was pulled up in front of Chinese regulators earlier this year.
Mr. Ma had been set to become China’s richest man with the stock market debut of his digital payments firm Ant Group. The company, an affiliate of Alibaba, was set to float on the Hong Kong and Shanghai markets, in a flotation that was expected to value the company at $34.4 billion.
Instead, what was going to be the world’s largest initial public offering was halted by Chinese regulators at the last minute. The Chinese government cited major issues over regulating the company as being at the root of the decision to halt the sale.
Insider analysts said that the move was intended to humble a company that Beijing thought had become too powerful. It is believed that the move was prompted by Mr. Ma’s criticism of the Chinese finance sector in October 2020.
The criticism was made during a financial technology conference. Mr. Ma had said that traditional banks were akin to pawn shops and that the digital banking system was better geared to make lending decisions that were based on data, and not collateral.
The Ant Group is best known for its Alipay system, which has quickly grown to become the largest online payment system in China and now eclipses credit cards, cash, and cheques in the country. Alibaba owns a third of the platform, and its shares slumped when the news of the suspension was announced.
Alibaba subject to an antitrust investigation
After the suspension was announced, the Chinese government said it was launching an antitrust probe into the e-commerce platform. In April, the investigation concluded with Alibaba being fined $2.8 billion by the regulators. The regulators said that the company had systematically abused its position as China’s largest e-commerce company over several years.
Ant Group was also forced to drastically restructure, with regulators demanding it acts more like a bank than a tech firm.
Although the Alibaba antitrust investigation is the most public move by Chinese regulators, it has also been seen as part of a concerted effort by the Chinese government to curtail the power of the country’s tech giants, which have been largely left alone by regulators in the past.
This soft-handed approach allowed the tech sector to grow, but now the government wants to suppress what it sees as tech mavericks with too much power. A claim that Alibaba co-founder and executive chairman Joe Tsai denies.
“The idea that Jack has this enormous amount of power, I think that’s not quite right. He is just like you and me, he’s a normal individual.”
He went on to say that Mr. Ma was now concentrating on things he really wanted to spend his time on, including philanthropy and hobbies.
Mr. Tsai said that the company was over its fine and was now looking forward to the future.