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Tag: Jack Ma

  • Where Is Bao Fan? Billionaire Chinese Banker Is Missing

    Where Is Bao Fan? Billionaire Chinese Banker Is Missing

    Bao Fan, a prominent tech banker and head of China Renaissance, has gone missing, sparking fresh fears of another Chinese tech crackdown.

    Bao Fan is one of China’s leading financial CEOs, having founded China Renaissance in 2005 after stints at Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse. According to The Guardian, quoting local news outlet Caixin, Bao Fan has been unreachable for two days, sparking a 50% drop in the company’s stock price. The price eventually regained 30%, but the questions about the CEO’s whereabouts remain.

    “[We] believe that everyone has had a restless night. At this time, [we] hope that you do not believe in or spread rumours,” the company said in a message to employees, seen by The Wall Street Journal.

    The incident is reminiscent of Alibaba founder Jack Ma’s disappearance in early 2021 amid Beijing’s crackdown on the tech and finance sector. Ma went missing for months before finally reappearing in a state media video. The fact that it was a state media video did little to reassure investors and fans that he was ok. Interestingly, Ma has since agreed to give up control of the Ant Group, the financial company at the heart of China’s regulatory efforts surrounding Ma.

    Many fear Bao Fan’s disappearance could be indicative of a similar crackdown on China Renaissance.

    Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry, told The Guardian he was “not aware of the relevant information” about Bao’s disappearance.

    “But I can tell you that China is a country under the rule of law,” he added. “The Chinese government protects the legitimate rights of its citizens in accordance with the law.”

  • Alibaba Reshuffles Execs, CEO Takes Over Cloud Unit

    Alibaba Reshuffles Execs, CEO Takes Over Cloud Unit

    Alibaba has undergone a major reorganization of its executives, with the CEO taking over as head of the company’s cloud unit.

    Unlike many companies, Alibaba has a system in place to rotate its executives, courtesy of former CEO Jack Ma. The system is designed to keep Alibaba nimble and prevent it from stagnating in a fast-moving industry.

    As part of its latest shuffle, CEO Daniel Zhang “will assume the role of acting President of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence and responsibility for the communication and collaboration platform DingTalk.”

    The previous head of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence, Jeff Zhang, will focus on his role head of Alibaba DAMO Academy, as well as T-Head, Alibaba’s proprietary chip development team. He will also continue leading the company’s Internet of Things (IoT) efforts.

    “Over the past four years, Jeff has led the Alibaba Cloud Intelligence team to deliver outstanding results in technological innovation and industry influence,” said Daniel in an internal email to staff.

    “As the country enters a new stage of living with Covid and policymakers have given direction to the future development of the platform economy, we are more confident than ever that continued development is the key to solving the challenges we face today,” Daniel continued in the email.

  • Jack Ma Will Give Up Control of Ant Group

    Jack Ma Will Give Up Control of Ant Group

    Tech mogul Jack Ma will give up control of Ant Group after a coordinated crackdown by Chinese regulators.

    China has a love-hate relationship with its tech companies. Beijing clearly wants its tech companies to succeed on the global scene but wants to maintain a tight reign on them at the same time. Jack Ma’s companies, and especially Ant Group, are Exhibit A.

    Ant Group originated from Ma’s Alibaba and quickly grew into a fintech powerhouse. The company was slated for an IPO that was projected to top $300 billion before Beijing canceled it and brought the company under the regulatory authority of China’s central bank.

    According to The Wall Street Journal, Ma now plans to relinquish control of the company as it reorganizes itself. Giving up control could help the company eventually move toward another IPO, although it would be at least another year or more, as Chinese regulations call for a one-year pause on IPO plans following an ownership change.

    The news is not particularly surprising, given the scrutiny Ma has been under. In fact, following criticism of China’s regulatory system, Ma disappeared from the public’s view so suddenly that some were worried about his well-being. Even a sighting months later did little to quell concern about the tech mogul.

    WSJ’s sources say Chinese regulators did not stipulate that Ma give up control of Ant Group but did approve of the decision. Ultimately, it seems Ma has been concerned for some time over the company being too tied to a single figure but had not made any moves sooner in an effort to not trigger the one-year IPO timeout.

    As regulatory scrutiny has increased, however, it seems Ma finally decided the IPO delay was the lesser of two evils.

  • Jack Ma Finally Resurfaces After Months Out of View

    Jack Ma Finally Resurfaces After Months Out of View

    Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma has finally resurfaced, after being out of the public view for months.

    Ma’s absence sparked concern, largely because of his recent criticism of China’s regulatory system. There was swift backlash, with Chinese authorities blocking the IPO of Alibaba’s Ant Group, estimated at $37 billion.

    According to CNN Business, Ma was spotted in a video posted by Chinese state media. The billionaire was seen in rural China, speaking to teachers as part of his philanthropic work.

    Alibaba’s stocks were up in both the Hong Kong and New York exchanges on the news.

    At the same time, not all investors are convinced everything is ok. Just because Ma made an appearance doesn’t mean Alibaba, or Ma himself, are in the clear.

    “What his actual state is will be completely up to Beijing to reveal to us,” Leland Miller, CEO of U.S.-based consultancy China Beige Book, according to Reuters. “What we do know is whether Jack is running around, Jack is hiding or something else, Alibaba is not in the clear. There is a lot more of the story still to see.”

  • Where’s Jack Ma? Chinese Billionaire’s Absence Spurs Questions

    Where’s Jack Ma? Chinese Billionaire’s Absence Spurs Questions

    Concern is mounting over Jack Ma’s status, amid a months-long absence from the public’s eye.

    Alibaba founder Jack Ma is one of the most well-known businessmen in the world, and the highest-profile entrepreneur hailing from China. Recently, however, Ma has been critical of China’s regulatory system. As a result, an estimated $37 billion IPO of Ant Group, Alibaba’s fintech venture, was suspended.

    Traditionally, Chinese authorities have a low threshold for dissent, even from popular and successful businessmen, further fueling concern. Since Ma’s criticism, he even missed the final episode of a TV show where he was scheduled to appear as a judge.

    “I think he’s been told to lay low,” said Duncan Clark, chairman of Beijing-based tech consultancy BDA China, reports CNBC. “This is a pretty unique situation, more linked to the sheer scale of Ant and the sensitivities over financial regulation,” he said.

    It remains to be seen if Ma is laying low, or if there is something more serious going on. Either way, given how respected he is, it’s a sure bet the industry will be watching closely for any sign of Ma’s reappearance.

  • Alibaba CEO Jack Ma Makes Multi-Million Dollar Investment in ‘Rent the Runway’ Fashion Business

    Alibaba CEO Jack Ma Makes Multi-Million Dollar Investment in ‘Rent the Runway’ Fashion Business

    It seems that Chinese billionaire investor Jack Ma is planning to expand his business interests to include women’s fashion. Mr. Ma and his Alibaba co-founder Joseph Tsai, are now eyeing a stake in Rent the Runway, a New York-based designer clothing rental for women.

    Jack Ma and Joe Tsai, through Blue Pool Capital, will inject $20 million in fresh capital into Rent the Runway based on details on a filing uncovered by research firm Lagniappe Labs. Blue Pool Capital is a multi-billion dollar fund tasked with investing the wealth of Ma, Tsai and other Alibaba executives.

    With the additional capital, Rent the Runway is now valued at a little under $800 million. During the company’s previous fundraising activity, it was valued at $750 million after it was able to secure $60 million in Series E investment led by Fidelity back in 2016. The latest deal with Blue Pool will carry the same terms as the Series E deal.

    Rent the Runway was established in 2019 by Harvard Business School students Jennifer Fleiss and Jennifer Hyman. It was previously a purely online-based service business that allowed women to rent designer dresses for special occasions rather than spending a substantial amount to buy them.

    The business idea became a hit and, veering from its pure eCommerce model, Rent the Runway soon opened up retail locations in major US cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco and Washington DC. Now, the company rents other high-end accessories such as handbags and jewelry.

    Aside from rental earnings and such, Rent the Runway’s revenue is now boosted by sales in lingerie, cosmetics, shapewear, and tights. In addition, the company introduced a subscription model where clients can rent a rotating closet assuring a wider variety of clothing options even for everyday wear.

    It is still unclear if Ma and Tsai plan to eventually acquire Rent the Runway. According to Jennifer Hyman, Rent the Runway co-founder and CEO, the deal is “good for us whether we IPO, or we sell the business, or we stay private.”

    [Featured image via YouTube]

  • Alibaba Wants To Help US Small Businesses Sell More In China

    Alibaba Wants To Help US Small Businesses Sell More In China

    Alibaba Group founder and Executive Chairman Jack Ma wrote an article for The Wall Street Journal in which he talked about the company’s strategy for the U.S. market. According to him, it’s “simple and clear” in that it wants to help U.S. entrepreneurs and small business owners, as well as businesses of all sizes, sell goods to a growing Chinese consumer class.

    Ma said that with this strategy, Chinese consumers will get to buy “all the American products they want,” while American jobs are created and U.S. exports are increased.

    Ma is visiting the United States this week to meet with potential partners on ways to make it easier to sell American goods to Chinese customers.

    “I feel most at home with entrepreneurs because a group of friends and I founded Alibaba Group 16 years ago believing that we could use technology to level the playing field, giving anyone who wanted to participate in global commerce a chance to succeed,” he wrote. “We connect buyers with sellers, supplying aspiring entrepreneurs with everything they need to start, run and grow a business—including financing, payments, logistics, marketing, analytics and even cloud computing. Today there are about 10 million entrepreneurs running small businesses on Alibaba’s retail marketplaces in China, and our ecosystem has generated 14 million jobs.”

    “Alibaba Group was founded in China but created for the world. We want to connect small businesses in the West with the largest, fastest-growing market in the East,” he added. “This strategy may come as a surprise to some, because many people view China through an outdated lens. The China of 2015 is virtually unrecognizable from the country a decade ago. While the first wave of globalization created a large working class in China, the next wave of growth has created a thriving middle class.”

    According to Ma, how the growing Chinese middle class spends its income is important for small businesses in America. He noted that China doesn’t have near the brick-and-mortar store presence that America does, with online shopping having “leapfrogged’ in-person shopping. Consumers are “eager to buy goods from abroad,” he said.

    Ma said he considers American entrepreneurs “strong role models for the world,” and that he feels a “great kinship” with the U.S.

    Here’s a speech Ma gave to the Economic Club of New York on Tuesday:

    In the speech, Ma talked about the difference between Alibaba and Amazon.

    “We are different,” he said. “The difference between us and Amazon is we don’t buy and sell. We help small businesses buy and sell every day. We do not deliver our packages ourselves, though we have two million people who help [deliver] over 30 million packages per day… we don’t hold inventory, but we do have 350 million buyers.”

    The main message Ma has been trying to get across appears to be that Alibaba isn’t here to “invade America,” but wants to have American businesses expand their offerings in China.

    Image via YouTube

  • Alibaba Finally Files For IPO, Which Is Said To Be Largest Ever For Tech Company

    Alibaba Finally Files For IPO, Which Is Said To Be Largest Ever For Tech Company

    As expected for quite a while, Alibaba has finally filed for its IPO, and word is that it will be the biggest one ever for a tech company.

    The Chinese e-commerce giant dominates mobile commerce in that country, accounting for a reported 76% of all sales and roughly 136 million MAUs.

    Alibaba also detailed its financial performance for the first nine months of its fiscal year 2013, which includes revenue of $6.51 billion and net income of $2.85 billion. Here’s the filing (via Mercury News):

    AlibabaF1050614.pdf

    The company expects to sell about 12% of its shares, which means that the IPO could bring in around $20 billion, according to reports.

    Here’s what the Twitterverse is saying about the company:


    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Alibaba CEO Jack Ma To Leave Post

    Alibaba CEO Jack Ma To Leave Post

    Jack Ma, founder and CEO of Chinese ecommerce powerhouse Alibaba, will soon shed his CEO title, though he will remain executive chairman, and focus on strategic direction of the company, which he founded in 1999.

    Ma sent a letter around to Alibaba employees, which is quoted on the company’s blog:

    As a founder CEO,” Ma wrote in the e-mail, “stepping down as CEO is a difficult decision, for this could be confounding especially for someone of my age who should be at the height of his career.”

    But “at 48 I am no longer ‘young’ for the Internet business,” Ma wrote, explaining that he wanted to make room for “the next generation of Alibaba people (who) are better equipped to manage and lead an Internet ecosystem like ours.

    “I believe that doing what makes oneself happy, staying within one’s own limits and being a good partner to one’s more capable colleagues, is the right thing for me to do,” Ma wrote.

    Ma will officially step down as CEO on May 10. He has been executive chairman as the company has shown impressive growth. The company has yet to choose his successor.

    Alibaba has 24,000 employees, and is valued at $40 billion. Last month, the company announced that it hit $157 billion in annual sales.