Alibaba Founder Jack Ma Accepts Teaching Position In Japan; Tycoon's Emergence Signals Entrepreneurial Confidence

Alibaba Group Holding Limited BABA founder Jack Ma is starting a teaching position in Japan after dodging the limelight during Beijing's crackdown on tech.
Ma joined Tokyo College as a visiting professor on May 1 and would research projects in sustainable agriculture and food production and deliver seminars on entrepreneurship, Financial Times reports.
The business magnate famous for his freewheeling interviews with foreign media disappeared from the public eye after criticizing Chinese regulators in late 2020.
Ma's criticism followed the last-moment quashing of the blockbuster initial public offering by Alibaba fintech affiliate Ant Group followed by a slew of regulatory action against the country's biggest tech giants, including a record $2.8 billion penalty against Alibaba.
Ma spent much of 2022 in central Tokyo. Lately, Beijing has voiced the resolution of the regulatory issues with the internet sector to bolster investor and entrepreneurial confidence.
Ma returned to mainland China in March to support plans by Alibaba's chief executive Daniel Zhang to restructure the group into six separate units to reverse a sluggish share price performance.
"He is representative of entrepreneurial confidence in the country," said Brian A. Wong, a former Alibaba executive and author of The Tao of Alibaba.
He considered it a signal that "Alibaba is refreshing." "Jack is no longer involved in the day-to-day running of the company after his retirement, but his views and opinions still carry weight and have influence behind the scenes," Wong added.
Ma gave up his control of Ant Group in January, reducing his stake in the company and paving the way for a possible IPO in Hong Kong or Shanghai.
Price Action: BABA shares traded lower by 0.13% at $84.58 premarket on the last check Monday.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons

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