Jack Ma’s Brief Video Chat Prompts a $58 Billion Sigh of Relief
Article summary
Bloomberg) — He appeared for less than a minute and said nothing about the Chinese government clampdown that had left his business empire in crisis.But for investors who’d been waiting months to catch a glimpse of Jack Ma, the entrepreneur’s participation in a live-streamed video conference on Wednesday was enough to trigger a $58 billion sigh of relief. That’s how much Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. ’s market value soared after a clip of Ma speaking to a group of teachers began circulating online — his first public comments since disappearing from view late last year.Much about the future of China’s most famous businessman remains unclear. Yet analysts said Wednesday’s video was a sign that worst-case scenarios — such as jail time for Ma or a government takeover of his companies –- are probably now off the table. […] But Wednesday’s market response suggests investors are beginning to price out the risk of a crackdown that would put the country’s richest entrepreneurs and most innovative companies in serious jeopardy.“Alibaba is not out of the doghouse, but at least it’s clear that the current anti-monopoly drive is not about punishing Jack Ma,” said Zhang Fushen, senior analyst at Shanghai PD Fortune Asset Management.Speculation about Ma’s whereabouts had intensified in recent weeks after it emerged that he skipped the recent taping of a Shark Tank-like TV program that he had created. […] Working hard for rural revitalization and common prosperity is the responsibility for our generation of businessmen.”It was “the perfect setting for Jack to reappear in the public spotlight,” Tang said.
