Jack Ma has been found.
Well, he wasn’t really lost but rumors had reached critical mass recently – as a Bloomberg story said “Maybe the embattled billionaire had fled to Singapore, some posited. Or he had been placed under house arrest. Or worse yet, he was locked up in a high-security jail.”
No.
Similar to another prominent world leader, former U.S. President Donald Trump, Ma was reportedly just playing golf, according to sources in the Bloomberg story.
Ma, China’s famous business behemoth and co-founder of Ant Group and Alibaba Group Holding, has been under the microscope after his company’s IPO was scuttled in November because of his aversion to the country’s banking rules.
New lending rules, introduced at a regulatory meeting between Ma and financial officials, disqualified Ant for a dual listing. The IPO, which would have been worth $37 billion, was pulled.
So, what does a multimillionaire do with all that time and money?
Tee it up at the Sun Valley Golf Resort, apparently.
The secluded, 27-hole course on the Chinese island of Hainan, was the favored layout for Ma, according to people familiar with the matter, asking not to be identified discussing private information.
Though Ma’s personal exploits are limited, his business has not taken the same hit. Alibaba stock, at $225 a month ago, was trading at $271 on Thursday afternoon.
Ma, 56, a former English teacher, was last seen on a Jan. 20 video chat with rural educators.
Ant may be emerging from the mess, as a restructuring plan approved by Chinese regulators could be officially announced this week, Bloomberg reported on Feb. 3, citing sources familiar with the matter.
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