Jack Ma 'reappears'; Missing Alibaba tycoon now spotted golfing in China's Hainan

After months of speculation over Jack Ma's whereabouts, the Chinese tycoon & Alibaba founder was reportedly spotted playing golf at Sun Valley Golf Resort in Hainan. The five-star resort has a 27-hole course with a striking view and is located on the picturesque Hainan Island south of the Qiongzhou Strait separating it from the Chinese mainland. It is said to be the first sighting of Ma after his live-streamed video chat with rural educators on January 20 which had been sketchy and had come amid his alleged disappearance being highly discussed across the world as it was believed that he was under detention.

READ | Jack Ma Resurfaces In Video Amid Claims He'd Gone Missing; Does Little To Assuage Fears

Chinese Billionaire Jack Ma Missing?

Jack Ma, the Chinese billionaire and founder of Alibaba, who is under the scanner of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP), has reportedly not been seen in public for several months. This has led to speculation that Ma could be missing. He also failed to appear as scheduled in the final episode of his own talent show, Africa’s Business Heroes, which gives budding African entrepreneurs the chance to compete for a slice of US $1.5 million. He last tweeted on 10 October last year.

READ | Chinese Billionaire Jack Ma Missing? Speculation Rife Amid Xi's Crackdown On Alibaba Boss

Long-missing Jack Ma 'found'

Twitterati on January 20 launched meme fest after the long-missing Chinese business tycoon Jack Ma reappeared in an online video after a 2.5-month absence. While the critics of Xi Jinping’s communist regime had suspected the Alibaba Group’s CEO’s arbitrary detention after he made disparaging statements against Communist-ruled China’s government and business counsellors in favour of free trade, the Internet was rendered shocked to watch him make a speech to rural educators. Ma’s remarks had led to the suspension of the preliminary public providing IPO of Ant Group on November 3 last year, and he was summoned by the PRC’s communist party for condemning Chinese financial regulators publicly. He had alleged that the survival of business empires was made difficult to sustain in the country with a communist outlook, which prompted an antitrust probe against him. 

READ | Alibaba Shares Jump After Jack Ma's First Appearance In Three Months Surfaces Online

Jack Ma Left Out From Chinese Entrepreneurial List

Underscoring how far he has fallen out from the favour of the Chinese government, Alibaba Group founder Jack Ma has not been included in the list of nation’s entrepreneurial leaders published by state media. In the latest snub against Ma who is an internationally-known entrepreneur hailing from China, he was left out of the list published on February 2 by Shanghai Securities News,  a newspaper backed state-run Xinhua News Agency. Instead, Huawei Technologies’ Ren Zhengfei, Xiaomi Corp’s Lei Jun and BYD’s Wang Chuanfu were praised for their respective contributions.

READ | Jack Ma Left Out From List Of Entrepreneurial Leaders Published By Chinese State Media