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China's highest-profile entrepreneur has not appeared in a
public setting since a late October forum in Shanghai where he
blasted China's regulatory system in a speech that put him on a
collision course with officials, resulting in the suspension of
a $37 billion IPO of Alibaba's Ant Group fintech arm.
The Financial Times reported on Friday that Ma was replaced as a
judge in the final episode in November of a game show for
entrepreneurs called Africa's Business Heroes.
An Alibaba spokeswoman told Reuters on Monday that the change
was due to a scheduling conflict, declining further comment.
While news coverage of Ma's absence from public view triggered
speculation on Twitter, which is blocked in China, it was not a
significant trending topic on social media in mainland China,
where sensitive topics are subject to censorship.
Chinese regulators have zeroed in on Ma's businesses since his
October speech including launching an antitrust probe into
Alibaba and ordering Ant to separate its lending business from
its online payments division.
"I think he's been told to lay low," said Duncan Clark, chairman
of Beijing-based tech consultancy BDA China. "This is a pretty
unique situation, more linked to the sheer scale of Ant and the
sensitivities over financial regulation," he said.
Alibaba's Hong Kong-listed shares fell 2.15% on Monday.
(Reporting by Tony Munroe and Brenda Goh; Editing by Carmel
Crimmins)
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