Jack Ma’s businesses are under enormous pressure right now. But the co-founder of China’s most successful tech empire and legendary billionaire entrepreneur hasn’t been heard from in months following his controversial speech on the 24th of October 2020. In which speaking jack Ma blamed China’s financial regulator and state-owned banks for slowing down the innovation and compared China’s global banking regulation to an “old people’s club.
Ma hasn’t made a public appearance or social media post since late October, just over a week before a much anticipated stock market listing of Alibaba’s (BABA) financial affiliate, Ant Group, was blocked at the last minute by Chinese regulators.
Ant Group has gone from preparing the world’s largest initial public offering to being ordered to overhaul large swaths of its business. Chinese regulators have criticized the company for edging out rivals from the market and hurting consumer rights.
The suspicions skyrocketed when Jack Ma didn’t appear on the final episode of his own talent show, “Africa’s Business Heroes” which offers young African entrepreneurs an opportunity to compete for $1.5 million.
While the world waits for answers, here are some of the possible reasons why Alibaba’s CEO Jack Ma is missing.
1.Waiting out the fire that he has lit
Jack Ma has lost over $10 billion since the investigation on his businesses began. With such a dire consequence at the early stage of this crisis caused by his speech, Ma’s advisers may have encouraged him to lie low and avoid talking with the press or any form of media coverage as a measure to let the anger of the government fade-out.
2. Busy pacifying regulators
Considering Jack Ma’s wealth of experience, it is safe to say his October speech may not have yielded the kind of results he was hoping to get. The industry titan at this time might simply have gone underground to right the wrongs. There’s a chance that Jack ma is currently lobbying to regain the goodwill of the Chinese President Xi Jinping.
3. Recovering from the stress
For a man who usually picks his words carefully, one would wonder what egged Jack Ma to fire away at China’s government, considering the conservative nature of the Asian superpower. While his financial and legal team work cushions the effects of his speech Ma might be laying low to recover from the stress the whole incident has had on him personally. He’s lost a lot of money and the battle only still seems to be brewing.
