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  • Alibaba shares whipsaw in premarket trade after revenue miss, $25 billion boost to buyback plan

    Alibaba shares whipsaw in premarket trade after revenue miss, $25 billion boost to buyback plan

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    Alibaba is operating in Suqian City, Jiangsu Province, China, on December 29, 2023.

    Costfoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images

    Shares of Alibaba initially whipsawed in premarket trade on Wednesday, as the company missed market expectations for revenue in the December quarter, but announced it is increasing the size of its share buyback program by $25 billion.

    U.S.-listed shares in the Chinese e-commerce giant were are one point more than 5% higher in pre-market trade, veering between positive and negative territory.

    Alibaba said the $25 billion increase is added to its share repurchase program through the end of March 2027, bringing the total available under the scheme to $35.3 billion.

    The company said in a statement that the increased buyback shows the “confidence in the outlook of our business and cash flow.”

    The announcement comes after a tumultuous year for Alibaba in 2023, when the company carried out its largest-ever corporate structure overhaul. It also separately implemented several high-profile management changes, with company veteran Eddie Wu taking over the reins as chief executive in September.

    Alibaba on Wednesday released financial results for its December quarter.

    Here’s how Alibaba did in its fiscal third quarter, compared to LSEG estimates:

    • Revenue: 260.35 billion Chinese yuan ($36.6 billion) versus 262.07 billion yuan expected.

    Revenue missed expectations, growing just 5% year-over-year, logging a slowdown from the previous quarters as growth in the company’s China e-commerce business and cloud computing division remained slow.

    Meanwhile, Alibaba’s net income in the December quarter fell 69% year-on-year to 14.4 billon Chinese yuan. The company said this was “primarily attributable to mark-to-market changes” to its equity investments and to a decrease in income from operations due to impairments related to its video streaming service Youku and supermarket chain Sun Art.

    China e-commerce, cloud business slow

    Alibaba has been grappling with a difficult macroeconomic environment in China, where the consumer has remained weak, even after Beijing removed its Covid-era restrictions. Amid economic uncertainties, local shoppers have flocked to discounting platforms such as Alibaba rival Pinduoduo.

    The Taobao and Tmall business, Alibaba’s China e-commerce platforms, brought in revenue of 129.1 billion Chinese yuan in the December quarter, up just 2% year-on-year.

    Alibaba’s cloud computing business, which investors have seen as critical to the tech giant’s future growth, brought in sales of 28.1 billion yuan, a 3% year-on-year rise.

    In a statement, recently-appointed Alibaba CEO Eddie Wu said the company’s focus is on growth in e-commerce and cloud.

    “Our top priority is to reignite the growth of our core businesses, e-commerce and cloud computing. We will step up investment to improve users’ core experiences to drive growth in Taobao and Tmall Group and strengthen market leadership in the coming year.”

    Earnings before interest, taxes, and amortization (EBITA), a measure of profitability, rose 1% at the Taobao and Tmall business for the fiscal third quarter.

    For the cloud computing business, EBITA rose 86% year-on-year as Alibaba focuses on profitability.

    One bright spot in Alibaba’s numbers was the international commerce business, which includes platforms like AliExpress and Lazada, which posted revenue of 28.5 billion yuan, up 44% year-on-year.

    Alibaba’s reorganization

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  • Alibaba co-founders buy more than $200 million worth of shares, sending stock up

    Alibaba co-founders buy more than $200 million worth of shares, sending stock up

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    Alibaba co-founders Jack Ma and chairman Joe Tsai, in front of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., on Friday, Sept. 19, 2014.

    Scott Eels | Bloomberg | Getty Images

    Alibaba co-founders Jack Ma and Joe Tsai have acquired shares worth hundreds of millions of dollars on the open market, according to a regulatory filing and The New York Times, sending the company’s stock up around 6% Tuesday in pre-market trading.

    An entity linked to Tsai’s family office, Blue Pool, acquired nearly 2 million Alibaba depository shares worth $152 million in the fourth quarter, according to a Tuesday regulatory filing. Separately, sources familiar with the matter told the Times that Ma acquired $50 million worth of Alibaba’s Hong Kong stock during the same period. Depository shares are effectively U.S.-traded versions of foreign stock.

    Alibaba has a market cap of more than $174 billion.

    Until recently, Ma had largely stepped out of the public eye. Tsai maintains a more visible profile as the owner of several sports teams, including the Brooklyn Nets.

    But the company they founded in 1999 has suffered in recent years. A low point came in 2020 and 2021, when Ma publicly criticized Chinese officials and financial watchdogs, and regulatory pressure ultimately derailed a planned IPO for the Ant Group, Alibaba’s financial arm.

    Geopolitical pressures have also weighed on the company. Alibaba announced in March 2023 that it would spin off its cloud business as part of a broader corporate reorganization. Months later, it scrapped those plans, citing U.S. semiconductor export controls. Around the same time the spinoff was canceled, Ma in a regulatory filing said that he would sell 10 million shares worth $870 million.

    Alibaba shares are down roughly 21% since the cancelled spin-off.

    Alibaba referred CNBC to Ma’s foundation, which did not immediately return a request for comment.

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  • Alibaba CEO warns of being ‘displaced’ if the Chinese tech giant doesn’t keep up in AI

    Alibaba CEO warns of being ‘displaced’ if the Chinese tech giant doesn’t keep up in AI

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    Signage at the Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. booth at the Smart China Expo in Chongqing, China, on Monday, Sept. 4, 2023.

    Qilai Shen | Bloomberg | Getty Images

    Alibaba needs to be “user first” and “AI-driven,” new CEO Eddie Wu told employees on Tuesday, as he laid out the strategic priorities for the Chinese tech giant.

    Wu, who is just three days into the job as Alibaba chief executive, called for the e-commerce firm to “adopt a start-up mindset” as he looks to steer the company back to growth following one of the most tumultuous times in its 24-year history.

    “Times are changing, and so must Alibaba! As the world progresses, Alibaba needs to evolve even faster!,” Wu said in a letter to employees that was seen by CNBC.

    Wu, one of Alibaba founder Jack Ma’s close confidants, started as CEO on Sept. 10, taking over from Daniel Zhang, who stepped down from the role to focus on heading up the cloud computing business. However, in a surprise move, Zhang this week quit as CEO of the cloud business with Wu taking over in the interim.

    It comes months after Alibaba split its company into six different business groups, the biggest shakeup in its history.

    Wu said Alibaba’s two main strategic focuses will be “user first” and “AI-driven.” The company will “reinforce” its strategic investments in three areas.

    The first it calls “technology-driven internet platforms.” Wu said that Alibaba’s business should “seek out the most open and collaborative relationships,” even with competitors. This is a different approach from Alibaba which has tended to try to keep users within its ecosystem of products.

    Wu also touted the need to invest in artificial intelligence. Alibaba’s cloud unit has tried to position itself as a leader in AI inside China as it looks to reignite growth in the business.

    “Each of our businesses generates massive numbers of use cases; therefore, we must transform these use cases into applications for AI technology, driving breakthrough user experience and business models through technology innovation,” Wu said.

    “If we don’t keep up with the changes of the AI era, we will be displaced.”

    Alibaba Cloud has its large language model called Tongyi Qianwen, released earlier this year. An LLM is an AI model trained on huge amounts of data and underpins chatbot applications. It’s the same type of model that OpenAI’s ChatGPT is based on.

    Wu also said Alibaba needs to continue to invest in “globalization.”

    Alibaba will also look to promote younger talent. Within the next four years, the company will promote those born after 1985 and the 1990s “to form the core of our business management teams,” Wu said.

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  • Alibaba’s restructuring and Jack Ma’s homecoming are all part of China’s plan | CNN Business

    Alibaba’s restructuring and Jack Ma’s homecoming are all part of China’s plan | CNN Business

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    Hong Kong
    CNN
     — 

    Alibaba’s landmark restructuring has sent its shares soaring in New York and Hong Kong, as investors bet on the return of regulatory support for China’s tech industry and private businesses after more than two years of a brutal crackdown.

    But the nature of the overhaul, in which the internet conglomerate will split its business into six separate units, is a sign that Beijing’s campaign against Big Tech hasn’t fundamentally changed. Regulators still intend to reduce the monopolistic nature of tech giants and limit their power, even as they urge private companies to do their part to create jobs and boost a flagging economy.

    The news of the restructuring came shortly after the return of co-founder Jack Ma to mainland China. Ma had been spending time overseas and otherwise keeping a low profile since the Chinese government began a fierce crackdown on the tech sector in late 2020.

    “It appears that Alibaba’s break-up has been orchestrated by Beijing,” said Brock Silvers, chief investment officer for Kaiyuan Capital.

    “This idea is reinforced by Jack Ma’s sudden reappearance, which now seems like a planned media event intended to boost market sentiment at a critical moment.”

    It worked. Shares in Alibaba

    (BABA)    , which has a market capitalization of $260 billion, soared 13% in Hong Kong on Wednesday, following a 14% surge on Wall Street overnight, leading the tech sector’s gains in the Asia Pacific.

    Ma is seen as a symbol of China’s tech industry and a barometer of the Chinese government’s support for private business. His presence is perceived as evidence of a more supportive approach to the private sector, at a time when China’s economy badly needs growth.

    In October 2020, the once high-profile entrepreneur criticized the country’s financial regulatory system for being too rigid and unfriendly to small business. As a result, the authorities shelved Ant Group’s planned $35 billion IPO at the last minute.

    A sweeping regulatory crackdown on Big Tech followed, which later engulfed China’s most powerful private companies, wiping huge sums off their market value. Alibaba’s stock is still down 70% from its peak just days before regulators abruptly pulled the Ant Group IPO.

    But almost three years on, the dynamics have changed.

    The Chinese government is now facing significant economic challenges. It’s eager to shore up growth and reinvigorate confidence in the tech sector following its emergence from three years of strict Covid-19 controls.

    Alibaba’s restructuring is “part of [Beijing’s] strategy to shore up confidence in the private sector,” said Hong Hao, chief economist for Grow Investment Group.

    In a policy shift, Chinese leader Xi Jinping recently urged the government to support private businesses, while calling on entrepreneurs to play a role in boosting growth and tech innovation, so that China can better counter what he called “containment” and “suppression” from the West led by the United States.

    Premier Li Qiang, a trusted ally of Xi who was confirmed as the country’s No 2 official this month, followed up by rolling out a series of measures intended to repair ties between the government and the private sector.

    “For a period of time last year, there were some incorrect discussions and comments in the society, which made some private entrepreneurs feel worried,” Premier Li said at his first news conference earlier this month.

    China may need Alibaba now, but it’s not nearly as powerful as it was, according to analysts.

    The breakup appears to “curb the influence of tech titans,” Silvers said. “It would serve as a stark reminder of Beijing’s uncomfortable relationship with the private sector, despite recent reassurances.”

    Beijing’s major concern is that private tech firms have become too big and powerful. During its years-long clampdowns, the government sought to reduce the monopolistic nature of many prominent tech companies, slapping them with big fines, banning apps from stores and demanding that some firms completely overhaul their businesses.

    “[Alibaba’s restructuring plan] offers a way to limit monopoly power and platform sway,” Hong said.

    It could serve as a model for other Chinese tech giants going forward.

    “Tencent is the obvious [one] next,” Hong said, adding that the social media and gaming giant has already started reducing its stake in portfolio companies, including food delivery company Meituan.

    Investors and analysts have cheered Alibaba’s restructuring.

    The move marks the most significant overhaul in the company’s 24-year history and will “unlock the value” of its various businesses, it said on Tuesday.

    Alibaba’s business will be split into six units: domestic e-commerce, international e-commerce, cloud computing, local services, logistics, and media and entertainment.

    The domestic e-commerce group, which includes Taobao and contributes to a majority of the company’s revenues, will remain a wholly-owned unit. The other five, meanwhile, will have their own CEOs and can pursue separate public listings.

    “The market is the best litmus test, and each business group and company can pursue independent fundraising and IPOs when they are ready,” Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang said in an email to employees.

    Some analysts welcomed the move, believing it will lead investors to reassess the valuation of Alibaba.

    Citi analysts said Tuesday their target price for Alibaba’s US-listed stock was $156 per share, which is nearly 60% higher than Tuesday’s closing level.

    -— CNN’s Riley Zhang contributed reporting.

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  • Alibaba to split into 6 units and explore IPOs; shares up 14% in the U.S.

    Alibaba to split into 6 units and explore IPOs; shares up 14% in the U.S.

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    Alibaba has faced growth challenges amid regulatory tightening on China’s domestic technology sector and a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy. But analysts think the e-commerce giant’s growth could pick up through the rest of 2022.

    Kuang Da | Jiemian News | VCG | Getty Images

    Alibaba said Tuesday it will split its company into six business groups, each with the ability to raise outside funding and go public, in the most significant reorganization in the Chinese e-commerce giant’s history.

    Each business group will be managed by its own CEO and board of directors.

    Alibaba said in a statement that the move is “designed to unlock shareholder value and foster market competitiveness.”

    Alibaba’s shares popped and closed more than 14% in higher in the U.S.

    The move comes after a tough couple of years for Alibaba which has faced slowing economic growth at home and tougher regulation from Beijing, resulting in billions being wiped off its share price. Alibaba has struggled with growth over the past few quarters.

    Alibaba is now looking to reinvigorate growth with the reorganization.

    The business groups will revolve around its strategic priorities. These are the groups:

    • Cloud Intelligence Group: Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang will be head of this business which will house the company’s cloud and artificial intelligence activities.
    • Taobao Tmall Commerce Group: This will cover the company’s online shopping platforms including Taobao and Tmall.
    • Local Services Group: Yu Yongfu will be CEO and the business will cover Alibaba’s food delivery service Ele.me as well as its mapping.
    • Cainiao Smart Logistics: Wan Lin will continue as CEO of this business which houses Alibaba’s logistics service.
    • Global Digital Commerce Group: Jiang Fan will serve as CEO. This unit includes Alibaba’s international e-commerce businesses including AliExpress and Lazada.
    • Digital Media and Entertainment Group: Fan Luyuan will be CEO of the unit which includes Alibaba’s streaming and movie business.

    Each of these units can pursue independent fundraising and a public listing when they’re ready, Zhang said.

    The exception is the Taobao Tmall Commerce Group, which will remain wholly-owned by Alibaba.

    $600 billion wipeout

    Around $600 billion of value has been wiped out since Alibaba’s share price peak in October 2020. Since then, the Chinese government has cracked down on private technology businesses, introducing a slew of regulation and increasing scrutiny on the practices of domestic giants.

    Alibaba’s fintech affiliate Ant Group was forced by regulators to cancel its mega public listing in November 2020. And in 2021, Alibaba was fined $2.6 billion as part of an antitrust probe.

    Alibaba is now looking to reinvigorate growth. The company has grown into a giant that encompasses businesses from e-commerce to cloud computing to streaming and logistics.

    The company sees the creation of the six businesses as a way to be nimbler.

    “This transformation will empower all our businesses to become more agile, enhance decision-making, and enable faster responses to market changes,” Zhang said in a statement.

    Read more about tech and crypto from CNBC Pro

    The reorganization also comes at a time when there are signs that Beijing is warming back up to technology businesses, as the government seeks to revive economic growth in the world’s second-largest economy.

    Jack Ma, Alibaba’s outspoken and charismatic founder who was out of the public eye and travelling abroad for several months, has returned to China, in a move perceived as an olive branch from Beijing.

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  • CNBC Daily Open: First Citizens struck a great bargain

    CNBC Daily Open: First Citizens struck a great bargain

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    An exterior view of First Citizens Bank headquarters on March 27, 2023 in Raleigh, North Carolina.

    Melissa Sue Gerrits | Getty Images News | Getty Images

    This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our new, international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.

    What you need to know today

    • The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 rose Monday as regional banks rallied on improved sentiment. First Republic jumped 11.81%, KeyCorp added 5.31% and PacWest increased 3.46%. Likewise, bank stocks in Europe rose 1.4% — Deutsche Bank, in particular, climbed 6.29% — helping the pan-European Stoxx 600 index close 1.1% higher.
    • Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, has been spotted in China after spending months out of the country. Analysts think it’s a sign Beijing’s loosening its grip on the technology sector in its pursuit of economic growth this year.
    • PRO Jeremy Siegel, professor at the Wharton School, said the Federal Reserve “basically beat inflation late last year,” citing these indicators.  

    The bottom line

    Investors are heaving a sigh of relief, and it’s all about the banks.

    First Citizens’ purchase of SVB’s assets was a bargain in monetary terms. More crucially, it signaled to markets that, despite SVB’s financial difficulties, there was still value in SVB’s reputation and relationship with its clients. There’s hope, then, of reviving a dead bank — something that can happen only in an environment conducive to such miraculous feats.

    Another troubled bank, First Republic, rallied after it was reported that U.S. authorities were considering giving the bank more time to shore up its liquidity. It might not need much more time, not only thanks to the $30 billion deposit promised to it by a coalition of banks, but also because the outflow of deposits from smaller banks to larger institutions has slowed in recent days, as sources told CNBC’s Hugh Son.

    And beleaguered KeyCorp, which tanked about 60% since the start of the banking turmoil, has a chance of surging 68.6%, according to Citi, which upgraded KeyCorp to buy from neutral.

    The optimism was reflected in the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE), which rose about 0.87%. Major indexes — with the exception of the Nasdaq Composite (more on that in a moment) — closed the day in the green too. The Dow increased 0.6% and the S&P inched up 0.2%. The Nasdaq Composite, however, fell 0.5%.

    Technology shares, which posted sterling gains as banks struggled the past two weeks, are now facing difficulties of their own. Alphabet slid 2.83%, Apple lost 2.8% and Meta fell 1.5%. Charles Schwab’s Liz Ann Sonders noted the S&P 500 information technology sector’s valuation, relative to the performance of the companies, has risen more than 30%. That’s not a sign we’re back in the pandemic days of sky-high tech valuation, but it’s something to keep an eye on as the banking crisis (hopefully) gets contained.

    Subscribe here to get this report sent directly to your inbox each morning before markets open.

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  • Jack Ma to relinquish control of Ant group | CNN Business

    Jack Ma to relinquish control of Ant group | CNN Business

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    CNN
     — 

    Chinese billionaire Jack Ma will no longer control Ant Group after the fintech giant’s shareholders agreed to reshape its shareholding structure, according to a statement released by the company on Saturday.

    After the adjustment, Ma’s voting rights will fall to 6.2%, according to the statement and CNN calculations.

    Before the restructure, Ma possessed more than 50% of voting rights at Ant via Hangzhou Yunbo and two other entities, according to its IPO prospectus filed with the exchanges in 2020.

    Ant added in the statement that the voting rights adjustment, a move to make the company’s shareholder structure “more transparent and diversified,” will not result in any change to the economic interests of any shareholders.

    Ant said its 10 major shareholders, including Ma, had agreed to no longer act in concert when exercising their voting rights, and would only vote independently, and thus no shareholder would have “sole or joint control over Ant Group.”

    The voting rights overhaul came after Chinese regulators pulled the plug on Ant’s $37 billion IPO in November 2020, and ordered the company to restructure its business.

    As part of the company’s restructuring, Ant’s consumer finance unit applied for an expansion of its registered capital from $1.2 billion to $2.7 billion. The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission recently approved the application, according to a government notice issued late last week.

    After the fund-raising drive, Ant will control half of its key consumer finance unit, while an entity controlled by the Hangzhou city government will own a 10% stake. Hangzhou is where Alibaba and Ant have been headquartered since their inceptions.

    Ant Group is a fintech affiliate of Alibaba, both of which were founded by Ma.

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  • Ant Group founder Jack Ma to give up control in key revamp

    Ant Group founder Jack Ma to give up control in key revamp

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    Alibaba founder Jack Ma attends the 5th World Zhejiang Entrepreneurs Convention at Hangzhou International Expo Centre on November 13, 2019 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province of China.

    VCG | Getty Images

    Ant Group’s founder Jack Ma will give up control of the Chinese fintech giant in an overhaul that seeks to draw a line under a regulatory crackdown that was triggered soon after its mammoth stock market debut was scuppered two years ago.

    Ant’s $37 billion IPO, which would have been the world’s largest, was cancelled at the last minute in November 2020, leading to a forced restructuring of the financial technology firm and speculation the Chinese billionaire would have to cede control.

    While some analysts have said a relinquishing of control could clear the way for the company to revive its IPO, the changes announced by the group on Saturday, however, are likely to result in a further delay due to listing regulations.

    China’s domestic A-share market requires companies to wait three years after a change in control to list. The wait is two years on Shanghai’s Nasdaq-style STAR market, and one year in Hong Kong.

    A former English teacher, Ma previously possessed more than 50% of voting rights at Ant but the changes will mean that his share falls to 6.2%, according to Reuters calculations.

    Ma only owns a 10% stake in Ant, an affiliate of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd <9988.HK>, but has exercised control over the company through related entities, according to Ant’s IPO prospectus filed with the exchanges in 2020.

    Hangzhou Yunbo, an investment vehicle for Ma, had control over two other entities that own a combined 50.5% stake of Ant, the prospectus showed.

    Ma’s ceding of control comes as Ant is nearing the completion of its two-year regulatory-driven restructuring, with Chinese authorities poised to impose a fine of more than $1 billion on the firm, Reuters reported in November.

    The expected penalty is part of Beijing’s sweeping and unprecedented crackdown on the country’s technology titans over the past two years that has sliced hundreds of billions of dollars off their values and shrunk revenues and profits.

    But Chinese authorities have in recent months softened their tone on the tech crackdown amid efforts to bolster a $17-trillion economy that has been badly hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic.

    “With the Chinese economy in a very febrile state, the government is looking to signal its commitment to growth, and the tech, private sectors are key to that as we know,” said Duncan Clark, chairman of investment advisory firm BDA China.

    “At least Ant investors can (now) have some timetable for an exit after a long period of uncertainty,” said Clark, who is also an author of a book on Alibaba and Ma.

    Regulatory scrutiny

    Ant operates China’s ubiquitous mobile payment app Alipay, the world’s largest, which has more than 1 billion users.

    Ant, whose businesses also span consumer lending and insurance products distribution, said Ma and nine of its other major shareholders had agreed to no longer act in concert when exercising voting rights, and would only vote independently.

    It added that the shareholders’ economic interests in Ant will not change as a result of the adjustments.

    Ant also said it would add a fifth independent director to its board so that independent directors will comprise a majority of the company’s board. It currently has eight board directors.

    “As a result, there will no longer be a situation where a direct or indirect shareholder will have sole or joint control over Ant Group,” it said in its statement.

    Reuters reported in April 2021 that Ant was exploring options for Ma, one of China’s most successful and influential businessmen, to divest his stake in Ant and give up control.

    The Wall Street Journal reported in July last year, citing unnamed sources, that Ma could cede control by transferring some of his voting power to Ant officials including Chief Executive Officer Eric Jing.

    Ant’s market listing in Hong Kong and Shanghai was derailed days after Ma publicly criticized regulators in a speech in October 2020. Since then, his sprawling empire has been under regulatory scrutiny and going through a restructuring.

    Once outspoken, Ma has largely remained out of public view since the regulatory crackdown that has reined in the country’s technology giants and did away with a laissez-faire approach that drove breakneck growth.

    “Jack Ma’s departure from Ant Financial, a company he founded, shows the determination of the Chinese leadership to reduce the influence of large private investors,” said Andrew Collier, managing director of Orient Capital Research.

    “This trend will continue the erosion of the most productive parts of the Chinese economy.”

    As Chinese regulators frown on monopolies and unfair competition, Ant and Alibaba have been untangling their operations from each other and independently seeking new business, Reuters reported last year.

    Ant said on Saturday that its management would no longer serve in the Alibaba Partnership a body that can nominate the majority of the e-commerce giant’s board, affirming a change that started mid-last year.

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  • Jack Ma Fast Facts | CNN

    Jack Ma Fast Facts | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Here’s a look at the life of Jack Ma, co-founder of China’s most successful tech empire and billionaire entrepreneur.

    Birth date: September 10, 1964

    Birth place: Hangzhou, China

    Birth name: Ma Yun

    Father: Ma Laifa

    Mother: Cui Wencai

    Marriage: Zhang Ying (Cathy Zhang)

    Children: Two (some sources say three)

    Education: Hangzhou Teachers College, 1988; Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business, M.B.A.

    Ma showed foreign tourists around his hometown as a child to improve his English.

    He was admitted to Hangzhou Teachers College on the third try, after failing the entrance exam twice.

    Owns a vineyard in France.

    Supports the Chinese work practice known as “996.” The number refers to working from 9am to 9pm six days a week.

    Is a member of the Communist Party.

    1988 – Begins teaching English at Hangzhou Teachers College.

    1994 – Ma founds his first company, the Haibo Translation Agency.

    1995 – Ma founds China Pages, an internet directory for Chinese companies.

    1999 – Co-Founds e-commerce company Alibaba Group with 18 others, working out of an apartment in Hangzhou.

    2003 – Founds Taobao, an online retail website.

    2004 – Founds Alipay, an internet payment platform.

    2010 – Co-founds venture-capital firm Yunfeng.

    2011 – An internal investigation into fraud claims takes place at Alibaba. The investigation finds roughly 100 Alibaba salespeople allowed fraudulent entities to be designated as “gold suppliers,” a title reserved for independently verified legitimate sellers. In response to the allegation, David Wei, the chief executive officer, and Elvis Lee, the chief operating officer, resign.

    January 15, 2013 – Ma announces he is stepping down as CEO of Alibaba, but will remain as the company’s executive chairman.

    September 19, 2014 – Alibaba raises $25 billion in a record-shattering IPO on the New York Stock Exchange.

    October 2014 – Establishes Ant Group, a financial technology company.

    December 15, 2014 – Founds the Jack Ma Foundation, a philanthropic organization.

    2017 – Co-founds a private school, the Yungu School, in Hangzhou.

    January 9, 2017 – Ma meets with US President Donald Trump to discuss plans for creating “one million” jobs in the United States through Alibaba Group’s e-commerce platform.

    November 11, 2017 – Makes his film screen debut in “Gong Shou Dao,” a kung fu movie.

    September 2019 – Announces he will step down as executive chairman of Alibaba. He is succeeded by CEO Yong Zhang, also known as Daniel Zhang.

    October 24, 2020 – Ma makes a controversial speech in China, calling for reform of the country’s financial regulatory system.

    November 3, 2020 – A planned IPO of Ant Group, Alibaba’s financial affiliate, is blocked at the last minute by Chinese regulators.

    December 24, 2020 – China launches an antitrust investigation into Alibaba. The State Administration for Market Regulation, China’s top market regulator, announces that it will probe alleged monopolistic behavior by Alibaba.

    January 20, 2021 – Ma makes his first public appearance in roughly three months while speaking at the online ceremony of the Rural Teacher Initiative event. Ma hadn’t made a public appearance or social media post since late October, just over a week before a much anticipated stock market listing of Alibaba’s (BABA) financial affiliate, Ant Group, is suspended.

    May 24, 2021 – Citing anonymous sources, the Financial Times reports that Ma will no longer serve as the president of Hupan, the elite business school he created in 2015. The newspaper also reports that Hupan would restructure its education program. The Hangzhou-based school had already dropped the word “university” from its name, following a government clampdown on institutions that are not licensed as universities but were claiming the status.

    December 31, 2022 – Ma surfaces in a live video speech in an annual address to rural teachers, according to the South China Morning Post. It is a rare public appearance following reports that Ma had been living in Tokyo after China’s crackdown on the tech sector.

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  • Chinese tech giant Alibaba announces new chairman and CEO succession plan in major shakeup | CNN Business

    Chinese tech giant Alibaba announces new chairman and CEO succession plan in major shakeup | CNN Business

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    Hong Kong
    CNN
     — 

    Joseph Tsai, executive vice chairman and cofounder of Alibaba Group, will succeed Daniel Zhang as chairman, according to an announcement by the Chinese tech giant on Tuesday.

    This is Alibaba’s second succession in just a few years after founder Jack Ma stepped away in 2019.

    Eddie Wu, chairman of Alibaba’s e-commerce platform Taobao and Tmall Group, will succeed Zhang as chief executive officer and replace him on the company’s board of directors. Both appointments will take effect on September 10, 2023, the company said.

    Following the transition, Zhang will continue to serve as the chairman and CEO of Alibaba’s cloud unit.

    “This is the right time for me to make a transition, given the importance of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group as it progresses towards a full spin-off,” Zhang said in the announcement.

    He added that the emergence of generative AI has opened up “exciting new opportunities” for the company’s cloud business.

    Wu, also a cofounder of Alibaba, served as the technology director at the company’s inception in 1999.

    “I am grateful for the trust of the Alibaba Group board of directors and am honored to succeed Daniel as Alibaba’s CEO,” he said.

    “While our current transformation brings in a new corporate organizational and governance structure, Alibaba’s mission remains unchanged.”

    The succession comes just a few months after the internet giant announced its biggest restructuring in its 24-year history.

    The company would split into six separate units, including cloud, e-commerce, logistics, media and entertainment, according to a company statement in March. Each unit would be overseen by its own CEO and board directors, and most of them can pursue separate listings or fundraisings.

    Zhang was appointed by Alibaba as CEO in May 2015, eight years after he joined the company. On September 10, 2019, he replaced Jack Ma as the executive chairman, as Ma retired on his birthday and the 20th anniversary of the company as he had promised.

    Alibaba is China’s largest e-commerce company, boasting more than 900 million active users annually on its Taobao and Tmall platforms. It also operates the country’s biggest cloud computing and digital payment platforms.

    But the company, along with its co-founder Ma, has been at the center of a sweeping crackdown by Beijing in recent years.

    After Ma criticized Chinese financial regulators in a public speech in late 2020, Beijing called off the blockbuster IPO of Ant Group, the affiliate of Alibaba that owns Alipay, at the last minute. The cancellation marked the start of a regulatory onslaught against the country’s internet industry and the private sector, during which Beijing imposed a record fine of $2.8 billion on Alibaba Group for violating antitrust rules.

    Since then, Ma had largely disappeared from public view and retreated further from his companies. He has reportedly spent more time overseas, including in Hong Kong and Japan, home to his friend and Alibaba investor, SoftBank CEO Masa Son.

    But in March, he made a surprising public appearance in mainland China, days before Alibaba announced its major restructuring plan. His return was a symbolic move and probably a “planned media event” by Beijing intended to appease private sector fears, according to analysts.

    Since then, Ma has shown up in public more frequently, with a more visible focus on researching and teaching. In April, the University of Hong Kong announced that Ma would join its business school for the next three years.

    Last week, Ma gave his first lecture as a visiting professor to the University of Tokyo, according to a statement from the university.

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  • Jack Ma makes rare public appearance in China | CNN Business

    Jack Ma makes rare public appearance in China | CNN Business

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    Hong Kong/Beijing
    CNN
     — 

    Jack Ma, the billionaire founder of Alibaba

    (BABA)     and once one of China’s most prominent entrepreneurs, has made a rare public appearance in the country.

    Ma visited the city of Hangzhou and was seen meeting with students and teachers at the Alibaba-funded Yungu School.

    “Jack Ma came to Yungu School and discussed the future of education with the campus directors,” the school said on its WeChat account Monday, adding that the purpose of Ma’s visit was to discuss “the challenges and opportunities” that “new technological change brings to education.”

    Ma, who has a fortune of nearly $33 billion, has kept a very low profile since the Chinese government began a fierce crackdown on the tech sector more than two years ago.

    One of the most dramatic opening salvos of the offensive came in November 2020, when Ant Group — a financial affiliate of Alibaba also founded by Ma — was forced to pull its $37 billion IPO at the last minute. That intervention by regulators followed a speech from Ma in which he criticized China’s banks and financial regulators.

    In recent years, Ma has reportedly spent time in Japan, home to his friend and Alibaba investor, SoftBank CEO Masa Son, and in Hong Kong.

    In a statement to CNN about the trip, the Jack Ma Foundation said the Alibaba founder “travels very often in China and overseas.”

    “Mr. Ma travels very often in China and overseas. He has been in Hangzhou recently. He paid a visit to Hangzhou Yungu School today and had a chat with teachers there on education,” a spokesperson said.

    In recent months, Beijing has signaled that its onslaught on the internet industry may be coming to an end. As the economy struggles to pick up speed after years of Covid lockdowns and a real estate crash, the ruling Communist Party needs the private sector to boost jobs and growth.

    New Premier Li Qiang has adopted a softer tone towards businesses since taking office, in what many see as an attempt to bolster China’s economic recovery. Investors have rushed back in.

    But the outlook for the sector remains uncertain. Confidence took a knock last month when Bao Fan, the CEO and chairman of Beijing-based China Renaissance, disappeared without explanation. Ten days later, the investment bank and private equity firm said he was cooperating in an investigation by Chinese authorities.

    Bao is a veteran deal maker in Chinese tech — he helped to broker the 2015 merger between two of the country’s leading food delivery services, Meituan and Dianping. His team has also invested in Chinese electric vehicle makers Nio

    (NIO)     and Li Auto, and helped Baidu

    (BIDU)     and JD.com

    (JD)     complete listings in Hong Kong.

    And while Beijing may have dialed back on its overt pressure, it has been quietly tightening its grip on household names, including Alibaba, by acquiring so-called “golden shares” that allow government officials to be directly involved in their businesses, including having a say in the content they provide to hundreds of millions of people.

    The future of Ant Group remains unclear. Ma relinquished control of the company in January as part of a shakeup of its shareholding structure. His voting rights have fallen to about 6% from more than 50% prior to the restructure.

    In a statement, Ant said the move would make the company’s shareholder structure “more transparent and diversified,” but would not result in any change to the economic interests of any shareholders.

    Ant said its 10 major shareholders, including Ma, had agreed to no longer act in concert when exercising their voting rights, and would only vote independently, and thus no shareholder would have “sole or joint control over Ant Group.”

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