In a few hours, on the Hong Kong stock exchange, the market value of the Chinese giant Alibaba fell by 26 billion dollars, with the title capitulating down to -9.4%. The thud was triggered by the announcement of the state television CCTV, which reported the news that the Chinese national authorities have launched an investigation on an individual with the surname Ma.
The markets immediately feared that the investigation concerned the founder of the e-commerce giant Jack Ma. The identity of the suspect has not yet been disclosed: it is known that the accused person works in the hardware research and development sector at an IT company, according to the state newspaper Global Times, which cited unidentified sources.
For its part, CCTV television stated that the suspect would have been subjected to “coercive measures” on April 25, after being accused of having promoted activities that put national security at risk, inciting subversive acts against the state.
It is not the first time that there is fear for the fate of Jack Ma; at the beginning of 2021 there was talk of his disappearance for more than two months, after the manager did not show up for the final episode of the program he launched, the talent show Africa’s Business Heroes. The entrepreneur was supposed to be part of the jury, but at the end of November he was replaced by an Alibaba executive: his photo had also been removed from the website dedicated to the competition.
In the spotlight the speech that Ma had made at the end of 2020 in Shanghai, with which he criticized the Chinese regulators, accusing them of stifling innovation, and calling the global regulation governing banks “rules for a club of seniors” .
“The financial system of today is the legacy of the industrial age. We must give birth to a new one for the new generation and for the young. We must reform the current system,” said the founder of Alibaba.