Ma spotted Down Under visiting mentor's family

Jack Ma Yun, the founder of the world's largest e-commerce platform Alibaba, is said to have visited the family of his late friend Ken Morley - who Ma said changed his life - in Australia.

Mainland media Yicai reported the supposed visit yesterday, citing a photo of Ma and the family.

According to social media posts, Ma was seen in Melbourne.

Ma met Morley, an engineer, in 1980 when Morley and his family visited Hangzhou. Ma was 15 at the time.

Ma, who later became an English teacher before founding Alibaba, came up to Morley's son, David, and asked if he could practice English with him.

Morley senior has since been Ma's friend, teacher and mentor. The family helped Ma with his English through years of correspondence.

In 1985, Morley invited Ma to Australia for his first overseas trip. Ma said the trip to Newcastle opened his eyes to the world and inspired him.

Morley had lent Ma money to buy his first apartment and they remained close friends until Morley's death in 2004.

In 2017, Ma said he would donate US$20 million (HK$156 million), the largest in the University of Newcastle's history, to fund a scholarship as a tribute to Morley.

Ma's whereabouts have been the subject of discussion since the billionaire criticized China's financial regulators in Shanghai in 2020, triggering a chain of events that resulted in the shelving of his Ant Group's initial public offering.

The group announced this year that Ma would give up the controlling rights, following China's tech crackdown.

In recent months, Ma has been spotted in various places, including the Netherlands, Japan and Thailand.

Ma was seen in Hong Kong in late January during Lunar New Year.