New Delhi: Jack Ma who had disappeared from public view for about two months after his conflict with the Chinese government has made his first public appearance since October in an online meet. The tech giant in November criticized China's regulators and state-owned banks. English teacher turned tech entrepreneur held a video conference with 100 village educators in an event he hosts every year to recognize the achievements of rural educators on Wednesday. A local blog first reported his appearance, the event usually takes place in southern Hainan but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it was done via video conferencing.
ALSO READ: India Leads Vaccine Distribution; Maldives, Nepal Among 6 Nations To Get First Tranche Today
Jack had kept from the public eye after the China's top market watchdog, began an investigation into alleged anti-competition practices by the e-commerce giant Alibaba, the country also laid out a "rectification plan" for Ma's fintech venture Ant Group. According to a report in TechCrunch, the People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, "summoned Ant Group for regulatory talks on December 26th, announcing a sweeping plan for the fintech firm to 'rectify' its regulatory violations".
The banking authority laid out a five-point compliance agenda for Ant Group. The agenda is that Ant Group should return to its roots in payments and bring more transparency to transactions. Ant Group said it has established an internal "rectification workforce" to work on all the regulatory requirements.
Chinese regulators after tightening fintech regulations, ordered an overhaul of Ant and launched a separate antitrust probe into Alibaba within a few days. Hence speculations were rife that the tech entrepreneur is either arrested or placed under house arrest. The communist country has a track record of keeping information under wraps, especially arrest of big personalities. Hence the term 'embracing supervision' could also hint at jail. The disappearance of the Chinese tycoon has come at a time when the the state media has turned critical of the online mogul.