According to people familiar with the matter, the Chinese government has told the country’s media to report on the antitrust investigation into the technology group Alibaba, whose founder Jack Ma has disappeared from the public eye.
The move by authorities to exercise control over media coverage over the problems of the prominent group shows that the case has become a matter of national political sensitivity in China.
Beijing has been hit hard in recent months. Ma’s business empire. The initial $ 37 billion public offering from Antib Group’s subsidiary Ant Group was canceled by the authorities at the last minute in November, while competition regulators announced a monopolistic investigation into Alibaba next month.
In his last public appearance in October, Mr. Ma, one of the richest people in the country, delivered a speech in which he criticized the Chinese banks and financial regulators of China.
At the end of December, the Chinese government’s propaganda arm directed the media to “strictly appeal” the official line on the antitrust inquiry into Alibaba and to “not make changes or conduct extensive analysis without permission”.
“If any announcements of the company contradict the official position, it should not be published, should not be re-posted, you should not quote foreign media,” reads the person’s prescription according to two people who read it.
The People’s Daily mouthpiece criticized the Chinese technology industry for pursuing ever-increasing market concentration, saying that increasing market surveillance is important for the healthy development of the economy.
“This directive is serious and unusual,” Xiao Qiang, a research scientist at the University of California, told the Berkeley School of Information. “The language [of the directive] is very much in line with the guidelines on ‘very important political events’, such as the trial of Bo Xilai,’ he added, referring to the disgraceful former politician who was sentenced to life in prison for corruption.
‘The investments of Ma’s companies are directly related to some of China’s most powerful political families. The fact that he’s getting into trouble with the Chinese state this time probably has high politics in the background, not just because he gave one speech that hit Xi [Jinping, China’s president] or another party official’s nerve, ”said Mr. Xiao said.
Mr. According to people close to the events, Xi was involved in the decision to stop Ant’s IPO. Alibaba’s shares have fallen by about 30 percent in recent weeks.
“I think Beijing is still a bit scared of Alibaba. . . The government thinks it is being challenged, ‘said a state media employee.
Unofficial media in China, such as online blogs, have continued to speculate about the location of Mr. Mom, though there are several censors.
His empire has been scrutinized by several government departments since Ant’s IPO, which would have been the largest world ever, was cultivated by regulators.
In addition to the antitrust investigation into Alibaba, the central bank of China plans to directly regulate Ant’s unit for consumer loans and other parts of its fintech empire, according to people briefed on the discussions.
The repression of Mr. Mom expressed to investors and entrepreneurs that the policy goes beyond regulation and that it is more about politics and showing the tech billionaire who is the ultimate boss.
In November, the vice-president of the state propaganda arm said at a conference of Chinese media to definitely “avoid the risk of capital control of public opinion”.
Last month, Alibaba-backed media platform Huxiu resigned to halt its operations for a month after publishing an editorial warning against excessive punishment from China’s technology groups.
The editorial argues that U.S. business monopolies have helped the country achieve global market dominance, while China’s technology ventures have not been large enough to justify antitrust probes.
“When Chinese companies tackle the world, one can rely not only on Huawei, but also on Tencent, Alibaba, ByteDance, Baidu, Xiaomi, BYD,” he concluded, referring to some of China’s leading technology companies. .