Jack Ma is one of the figures being suppressed by China. Now, the founder of Alibaba Group is increasingly being pressured into a difficult position with new problems.
Jack Ma was the richest man in China before he dared to criticize the country led by Xi Jinping. Alibaba shares even fell, especially when he disappeared for several months.
The following are the dangers faced by Jack Ma, quoted by us from the Financial Review, Friday (28/1/2022).
US investigations Alibaba Cloud's business
Reuters reports that the administration of US President Joe Biden is investigating whether Alibaba's cloud business poses a potential risk to US national security. The report, citing three anonymous sources, said the focus of the investigation was on how Alibaba stores US client data, including personal information and intellectual property, and whether the Chinese government could gain access to it.
US regulators, the report said, could ultimately decide to force companies to take action to reduce the risks posed by cloud businesses, or ban Americans from using the service.
Corruption scandal
Ant Group (Alibaba-backed Fintech) continues the assets under management in the highly popular money market mutual fund Tianhong Yu'e Bao. Officials worry that Ant Group's assets could pose a potential risk to China's financial system.
Jack Ma is no longer threatened with the disbandment of Ant Group, but he also has to worry about the possibility of being caught in a corruption scandal. A documentary shown on China's state broadcaster China Central Television alleges that private companies made 'very high payments' to the brother of the former Chinese Communist Party chairman in Hangzhou, a technology hub that is home to Ant Group's headquarters. In return, they receive incentives and government policy support by buying real estate.
Although the documentary doesn't name Jack Ma's company, a unit of Ant Group bought two plots of land at a discount in Hangzhou in 2019 after taking stakes in two mobile payments businesses owned by the party secretary's younger brother.
After the documentary was shown, the Communist Party's corruption eradication unit issued a communique in essence vowing to investigate and punish corrupt behavior behind capital expansion and platform monopoly.