Alibaba's Jack Ma returns to China after year-long absence: Report
Hindustan TimesAlibaba founder Jack Ma has returned to China, the South China Morning Post reported on Monday, ending a more than year-long sojourn overseas that was viewed by industry as reflecting the sober mood of China's private businesses. Ma, one of China's best known entrepreneurs, left mainland China in late 2021 and has been seen in photographs in Japan, Australia and Thailand in the months since. Once one of the country's most outspoken businessmen, he retreated from the public limelight in late 2020 after criticising China's regulatory system that was later blamed for triggering a wide-ranging regulatory crackdown by Beijing. The SCMP report did not state when Ma had returned to China but said, citing sources, that he visited a school he founded in the city of Hangzhou, the home of Alibaba and financial technology firm Ant Group.