Alibaba and Ant co-founder Jack Ma Yun has resurfaced after months out of public view, quashing speculation about his whereabouts.
Shares in Alibaba Group (9988) gained by 5.65 percent to HK$258 on the news.
Ma addressed scores of teachers on an online conference Wednesday, part of an annual event he hosts to recognize the achievements of rural educators. His appearance, first reported in a local blog, was confirmed by people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reports.
“Recently, my colleagues and I have been studying and thinking. We made a firmer resolution to devote ourselves to education philanthropy,” Ma said in the video. “Working hard for rural revitalization and common prosperity is the responsibility for our generation of businessmen.”
Reuters said Ma met with 100 rural teachers in China on Wednesday, citing local government media. He was making his first appearance in public since October.
Tianmu News, a news portal under Zhejiang Online, a government-backed news website, reported the meeting on Wednesday.
Ma’s re-emergence may help quell persistent rumors about his fate while Beijing pursues investigations into online finance company Ant Group Co and Alibaba Group Holding.
Ma had kept out of public view since Chinese regulators torpedoed Ant’s US$35 billion IPO, tightened fintech regulations, then ordered an overhaul of Ant and launched a separate antitrust probe into Alibaba – all in a span of days.
Jack Ma Yun has not been seen in public since China's regulators shut down the Ant Group's planned listing in Hong Kong
