Chinese billionaire Jack Ma living in Tokyo after China’s crackdown against firms: Report

Chinese billionaire and e-commerce giant Alibaba founder Jack Ma who ran into trouble with Chinese government over violating anti-mopoly regulations and kept a low profile since 2020 is w living in Tokyo for about six months, according to a media report on Tuesday.

Ma’s months-long stay in Japan with his family has included stints in hot springs and ski resorts in countryside outside Tokyo and regular trips to US and Israel, Financial Times reported, quoting people with direct kwledge of his whereabouts.

Ma, 58, has largely disappeared from public view since he criticised Chinese regulators in 2020, accusing state-run banks of having a “pawnshop mentality” and calling for bold new players that can extend credit to collateral poor.

Since n, both companies he founded -- Ant and e-commerce group Alibaba -- have faced a series of regulatory obstacles.

Chinese regulators called off Ant’s blockbuster USD 37 billion initial public offering and fined Alibaba a record USD 2.8 billion for antitrust abuses last year.

His absence from China has coincided with escalation of President Xi Jinping’s zero-Covid controls this year. This led to a harsh lockdown of Shanghai and surrounding Yangtze river delta in April and May and sparked nationwide protests over recent days, report said.

Before his troubles with Chinese government, Ma h visited India, where his Alibaba developed business interests, and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015.

Ma has a home in Hangzhou, a city near Shanghai where Alibaba is hequartered. Since his fallout with Chinese authorities, Ma has been spotted in various countries, including Spain and Nerlands.

Born to a poor family, Ma, who is most revered businessman among Chinese people, grew up to be one of China's richest men.

sudden and surprise anuncement by Ma in 2019 to retire stating that he preferred to die at a beach than at his work table set off speculation that he was feeling weight of ruling Communist Party of China (CPC), which firmly exercised its control over China’s top businesses prompting him to downsize his businesses.

His retirement and subsequent anti-mopoly crackdown by CPC on a host of Chinese businesses, including Tencent and ByteDance, sparked speculation that party heed by Xi is cutting wealthy businesses to size to reduce ir growing influence in China.

Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post owned by Ma has recently reported that wealthy Chinese were looking for avenues to migrate after Xi won third five-year term in last month’s once-in-a-five-year Congress of CPC, fearing crackdowns against m.

A growing number of rich Chinese and even middle class are paying for residence and citizenship through investment, which offers m location fluidity and option to relocate at any given moment between two or more “home” nations, Post report said.

Ma was spotted on Spanish island of Mallorca last year. He has kept a low profile during his stay in Tokyo, bringing his personal chef and security with him and keeping his public activities to a minimum, said people with direct kwledge of his whereabouts, FT report said.

His social activities centre around a small handful of private members’ clubs, with one based in heart of Tokyo’s swish Ginza district and ar in Maruuchi financial district facing Imperial Palace.

Ors said Ma h used his time in Japan to expand his business interests beyond core e-commerce techlogies of Alibaba and Ant, and into fields of sustainability. He has largely turned over reins to a new generation of leers at both companies.

Ma’s six months in Japan have coincided with a historic sell-down by SoftBank of its long-term shareholding in Alibaba after Japanese techlogy group suffered a heavy hit from a global tech rout earlier this year.

Jack Ma Foundation and Ant did t respond to requests for comment regarding his visit to Tokyo, report said.