Chinese tycoon appears in video two months after he criticised regulators

CHINA’S highest-profile entrepreneur, Jack Ma, appeared in an online video, ending a two-and-ahalf month absence from public view that prompted speculation about the future of the e-commerce billionaire and his Alibaba Group.

In the 50-second video, Mr Ma congratulated teachers supported by his foundation and made no mention of his disappearance or official efforts to tighten control over Alibaba and other internet companies over the past six months.

The video appeared on Chinese business news and other websites.

The normally voluble Mr Ma disappeared from public view after he irked regulators by criticising them in speech on October 24 at a Shanghai conference. Days later, regulators suspended the planned multi-billion-dollar stock market debut of Ant Group, a financial platform that grew out of Alibaba’s payments service, Alipay.

That prompted speculation online about whether 56-year-old Mr Ma, a symbol of China’s tech boom, had been detained or might face legal trouble.

The Jack Ma Foundation said in a statement yesterday: “Jack Ma participated in the online ceremony of the annual Rural Teacher Initiative event on January 20.”

The foundation and Alibaba did not respond to questions about Mr Ma’s status and when his next public event might be.

President Xi Jinping’s government says anti-monopoly enforcement against internet companies will be a priority this year.

Alibaba and other firms have been fined for violating anti-monopoly rules while some social media services have been reprimanded for lapses in enforcing censorship.

In October, Mr Ma complained regulators had a “pawnshop mentality” and were hampering innovation, according to Chinese media.

He appealed to them to make it easier for entrepreneurs and young people to borrow.

That clashed with the ruling party’s marathon campaign to reduce surging debt.

Some people suggested the ruling Communist Party was making an example of Ma to show entrepreneurs could not defy regulators.

But finance experts said Mr Xi’s government was uneasy about Alibaba’s dominance in retailing and Ant’s potential financial risks.