Jack Ma's name many will say little, but in fact it stands for one of the most successful Internet businesses in the world. Alibaba was founded in 1999 as a B2B platform 17 friends who quickly received multi-million infusion from American and Japanese investors. With the help of the service, it was planned to raise the internal Internet trading in China, to help with export and demonstrate the world willingness to follow conventionally "capitalist values" (in fact - a market economy).
For this in China, the rapid growth of everything, and the brainchild Jack Ma did not exception. The company went up with the directions, the name of its founder became synonymous with success, and the businessman himself was one of the richest people of the country, wrote the edition of The New York Times. For some time, his name was "daddy Ma", they were equal to him and put in an example. Gradually, however, for the audience (or part of it), he turned into a "evil capitalist", "villain", and from the "daddy" became a "son" or even "granddaughter". In China, where the older generation is extremely honored, this is a significant decrease in the "rank".
Photo: CNBC.com.
To date, the Alibaba Group includes many less large enterprises, of which the most famous people are likely to Aliexpress and Taobao. However, they did not attract attention to Jack Ma Empire, and the Financial Monster Ant Group, which grew up from Alipay, is the largest payment platform. Disputes and conflicts around it were conducted for a long time - at least since 2011, but then criticism did not usually not go. And Alipay used everything.
Almost all decade passed relatively cloudlessly, but in the 2020th Alibaba collided with the "existential crisis" with very serious consequences - whether for the group of companies, or for Jack Ma Ma. Taking into account the fact that they are inseparable, probably the problems will be at all.
It is worth noting that Jack Ma went from the post of Ceo Alibaba back in 2013, taking the chair of the chairman of the board of directors. In this status, he stayed until 2019, quitting the teacher's day - this is a tribute to his past (before becoming a billionaire, he taught English). After the care of Ma, the members of Alibaba Partnerships are "community" of all important cones of the group of companies.
Photo: WebTekno.
By the fall of 2020, the Chinese government blocked the out of group output on an IPO, thereby providing discontent with Jack Ma. It is also clear: $ 35 billion was planned to be outlooked at the placement, and the market value of the financial organization would be $ 300 billion, and so the richest Chinese would be even richer, Bloomberg writes.
A businessman entertained its discontent in the words about the Anchronic Financial System of China, its suburctication and in general the absence of an understanding, as everything works in the modern world: he told me about it and many more than pleasant for state officials, he told in his 20-minute dusty speech on Bund Summit.
What in response? After a short time, Jack Ma disappeared.
Sources familiar with the situation explain his disappearance a little differently, but the thought is alone: some say that the businessman himself decided to "become lower than grass, quieter of water", others - what, they say, calming him asked at the highest level (and at the same time - Do not leave the country).
Photo: CNBC.com.
Then rumors appeared: Jack Ma removed a special division, created by seven years ago just for such cases. It is hardly true. As for a sharp response from the authorities, it is easy to guess what they were guided by a deposition of compatriot.
According to some of the world's competition. Moreover, not only with Ma: in China, allegedly tired of the almost endless power of technological giants, which began to perceive as a threat to the political and economic well-being of the country. Well, the law on containing monopolies (not state-owned, of course), enhanced by a pair of solutions to the Politburo of the CCP Central Committee, is simply one of the official tools to keep the irrepressive growth and appetite of the Aytichnikov.
Photo: Quartz.
Yes, once the Chinese startups became drivers of the economy and raised the prestige of the country in the eyes of the world community. But gradually the sphere of their influence has expanded on all China, and today no part of it costs without "modern technologies" - and therefore, under their control. And this, in turn, means a tremendous influence that should be focused in the hands of the Ch Jungho Gongchandan party and his Secretary General.
Apparently, Jack Ma lost a feeling of balance and borders, which helped him all past years. It is compared with Ikar, soaring too high, and now his brainchild is engaged in "self-confidence": "We hold a comprehensive assessment [ourselves]" (they say responsible persons in Alibaba). Now the question is how events will develop further. While the future is foggy. In any case, any pressure on ANT will affect Alibaba, the platforms of which are tied to their own payment system.
Photo: BBC.com.
Just will not. If only because the subsidiary of Ant International held a "secret IPO" in 2018, having gathered $ 10.3 billion from investors. What will happen to their money now, especially in the light of possible restructuring of assets? In theory, they could become the owners of Ant Group shares, and in reality they can stay with nothing significant pieces - and feel ourselves "served", writes The Financial Times. Probably the largest in the history of the IPO to come true is not destined. Or at least the future will not be like this that Jack Ma seen.
In addition, despite the fact that the main business of Alibaba is concentrated in China, the pressure on the company will have global consequences for a number of reasons - including because the Chinese technological empire is represented on the NYSE, and its largest shareholder is the Japanese Softbank. More serious investors participate in business.
Photo: Coindesk.
Recently there were rumors that the Chinese government allegedly intends to nationalize the business Ma or take control of his most "dangerous" part of the financial platform. Data on supposedly coming (or possible) nationalization cannot be verified: the information was announced by the "insider from the financial industry" by the Radio Free Asia edition, but they cite it with great care, and large media and bypass them at all. However, it is impossible to exclude such a development of events.
So far, the nationalization of Alibaba looks unlikely, but for sure China will significantly increase control of the technological giants in principle, it will cool their dust in the desire to become "more than can be". As for Jack Ma, it is unlikely that someone makes him painfully at the moment - most likely, he, as he recommended, "discarded on the bottom" in anticipation of the solution from above.
Basic Sources: The New York Times, Bloomberg, The Financial Times, Radio Free Asia
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