Reclusive Jack Ma Makes First Trip to Hong Kong Since Criticizing Authorities

Alibaba founder Jack Ma [Photo by Reuters]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba who has been reclusive due to pressure from Chinese authorities, has appeared in Hong Kong.

Foreign media reported on the 13th, citing anonymous sources, that "Jack Ma met with his business partners in Hong Kong last week." It is reported that Ma is currently staying in Hong Kong.

According to sources, this visit to Hong Kong is Ma's first since October last year. He suddenly disappeared after publicly criticizing Chinese authorities at the Shanghai Financial Forum in October last year.

Since then, the IPO of Alibaba's fintech affiliate Ant Group was canceled, and Alibaba became the target of strong regulations by authorities under the pretexts of antitrust and personal data protection, resulting in a 3 trillion won antitrust fine.

Earlier, on the 1st of last month, Ma inspected a farm in Pinghu, Zhejiang Province, China. This was his first public appearance in four months since visiting Alibaba's headquarters in Hangzhou in May. At the time, there was speculation that he might be entering the agricultural technology sector.

Meanwhile, Alibaba recently announced that it will return 100 billion yuan (approximately 18 trillion won) to society by 2025 in line with Chinese President Xi Jinping's 'common prosperity' policy. The 100 billion yuan is close to Alibaba's half-year net profit.

Of the 100 billion yuan, 20 billion yuan will be used as a common prosperity development fund in Zhejiang Province, where Alibaba's headquarters are located, to address income inequality. Analysts say Alibaba acted quickly as President Xi fully promoted the national policy focus on distribution and common prosperity.