(Repeat Sunday story with no text change)
By Tony Munroe
BEIJING, April 11 (Reuters) – Alibaba founder Jack Ma, once seemingly untouchable, suffered a turbulent run, beating his Chinese e-commerce giant with a record fine of 18 billion yuan ($ 2.75 billion) on Saturday, and even resolved one major uncertainty as others persisted for himself and his business empire.
The turnaround of happiness for the 56-year-old mother, who has disappeared from the public eye since a speech in October on China’s regulatory system, is striking for an entrepreneur whose transformation of trade in China – and his relentless optimism – commanded cult-like reverence.
Mom, who retired from Alibaba in 2019 but is big in the corporate psyche and in the eyes of investors, was delighted with the shifting boundaries with bold statements, and has a high reputation, although most Chinese peers kept their heads .
Friends in high places, as well as proud of Alibaba’s success, protected Ma, sources said.
That was until his speech in Shanghai caused a setback that led to a dazzling $ 37 billion scholarship for the Alibaba group, the financial technology company, Ant Group, as well as a crackdown on the e-commerce giant’s authorities and the broader “platform economy”. which continues to resonate.
Ant, whose rapid growth and free lending practices have caused alarming financial risks, remains subject to a forced restructuring that is expected to curb some of its most profitable businesses and diminish its valuation.
“Entrepreneurship must be disruptive. But to be provocative, the government has its limits,” said Duncan Clark, chairman of Beijing-based technology consultancy BDA China and author of a book on Alibaba and Ma.
The settlement on Saturday, he said, “should draw a line” under the case for Alibaba.]
“But for Ant and Jack there is no line yet,” he said.
Alibaba declined to comment on Ma, and its foundation did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
ATTENTIVE ABSENCE
Mom’s absence from public view became noticeable until he showed up for the first time in three months in late January and spoke to a group of teachers via video, which raised Alibaba shares. He continued to maintain an extremely low profile.
“He plays a lot of golf and improves his handicap,” said someone who knows him.
A former English teacher, Ma, founded Alibaba in 1999 from a shared apartment in the eastern city of Hangzhou, which eventually built a colossus of e-commerce, financial services, cloud computing and even supermarkets, making him China’s most famous businessman make.
He was also the richest man in China until the crash pushed him back to fourth place on the Hurun Global Rich List published in March, although according to the list, Mom and his family’s wealth continued to grow by 22% to 360 billion last year. yuan.
As of July last year, it owned 4.8% of Alibaba.
In 2018, it is revealed that Ma is a member of the Communist Party through his official newspaper, which denies a public assumption that he has been politically detached.
‘ARROGANCE REFUSAL’
Mother is often described in Chinese media as a source of national pride and even legend. His worldwide fame made him an almost diplomatic figure. Countless books have been published on Alibaba’s founding and Ma’s business tactics.
Ma isms such as “Today is difficult, tomorrow will be worse, but the day after tomorrow will be sunshine”, are common in Chinese business circles. In Hangzhou, it is well known that small businesses erect altars decorated with images of Mom to bring happiness.
But in a quarter of February, Mom was left out of a list of Chinese business leaders published by the state media.
Franklin Chu, president of Sage Capital in Rye, New York, noted that Alibaba shares are trading at a 30% discount to their 52-week high.
“I call it the ‘Jack Ma arrogance discount’, combined with the recent round of China bashing that came from Washington,” he said.
Alibaba, he said, “must work hard to re-establish an accommodating relationship with its regulatory handlers.”
Since retiring from the company, Ma has tried to focus her time on philanthropy and education, including his charity trust, the Jack Ma Foundation, and two schools in Hangzhou.
Mom was an active participant in the conference and made at least 12 appearances in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic began. In March 2020, he opened a Twitter account – the platform was blocked in China – that mainly tweeted about preventing COVID-19 from its founding. The last tweet was on October 10th.
“It’s crucial that Chinese entrepreneurs are insignificant. Do not speak casually. And do not say anything wrong,” said Edward Chen, chairman of Shanghai-based fintech consulting China Rising Group, in a video post on social media said.
“Prudence in words and actions is the first priority, so that Chinese entrepreneurs can live longer.”
($ 1 = 6,5522 Chinese yuan yuan)
(Reporting by Tony Munroe in Beijing, Brenda Goh, Samuel Shen and Josh Horwitz in Shanghai, Kane Wu in Hong Kong and Ross Kerber in Boston; editing by Kim Coghill)