Jack Ma lives in Japan after China’s tech crackdown: FT

Alibaba founder Jack Ma has lived in Tokyo for nearly six months after disappearing from public view following China’s crackdown on the tech sector, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing multiple sources. anonymous.

The billionaire has kept a low profile since the crackdown, which included Chinese regulators canceling Ma’s Ant Group’s IPO and slapping Alibaba with a record fine.

But the FT said he has spent most of the past six months with his family in Tokyo and other parts of Japan, along with visits to the United States and Israel.

The British newspaper reported that Ma frequented a number of private members’ clubs in Tokyo and became a “passionate collector” of modern Japanese art, as well as exploring the expansion of his career. prefer his business to the field of sustainability.

Ghost has been discovered elsewhere since he disappeared from public view in China, including on the Spanish island of Mallorca last year.

In recent years, Chinese officials have targeted the alleged anticompetitive practices of some of the country’s biggest names, due to concerns that big internet companies control too much data. and expand too quickly.

This July, it was reported that Ma planned to hand over control of Ant Group to appease Chinese regulators and revive the digital payments unit. public output.

His e-commerce giant Alibaba reported flat revenue growth for the first time in August, as China grapples with an economic downturn and a resurgence of COVID-19 infections.

US authorities have put the company on a watch list that could be delisted from New York if it doesn’t comply with disclosure orders, sending the company’s stock plunging.

© 2022 AFP