Jack Ma living in Japan after China tech crackdown: FT, The founder of Alibaba, Jack Ma, has been residing in Tokyo for nearly six months after vanishing from view following China’s crackdown on the tech industry, according to a report published on Wednesday by the Financial Times, which cited numerous unnamed sources. Since the crackdown, which saw Chinese regulators cancel Ma’s Ant Group’s IPO and slap record fines on Alibaba, the billionaire has maintained a low profile.
Jack Ma living in Japan after China tech crackdown: FT
But the FT said he has spent much of the past six months with his family in Tokyo and other parts of Japan, along with visits to the United States and Israel. The British newspaper said Ma has frequented several private members’ clubs in Tokyo, and become an “enthusiastic collector” of Japanese modern art, as well as exploring expanding his business interests into sustainability.
Ma has been spotted elsewhere since he effectively disappeared from public view in China, including on the Spanish island of Mallorca last year. In recent years, Chinese officials have taken aim at alleged anti-competitive practices by some of the country’s biggest names, driven by fears that major internet firms control too much data and expanded too quickly.
A report in July said that Ma intended to cede control of Ant Group to placate Chinese regulators and resurrect the initial public offering of the company’s digital payments division. For the first time ever, his e-commerce behemoth Alibaba reported flat sales growth in August as China struggled with a slowing economy and resurgent Covid-19 cases. The company has been placed on a watchlist by US authorities, and if it does not abide by disclosure orders, its shares will plummet and it could be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.
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