'Return of the big boss': Jack Ma aims to regain market leadership for Alibaba

Alibaba Group's legendary founder Jack Ma, who went into the shadows after the conflict with Beijing in 2020, has returned to active participation in the company's strategic decisions - from price wars with competitors to the race in the field of artificial intelligence, Bloomberg reported citing sources. Experts see this as a signal that the era of state pressure on the technology industry in China has come to an end. For investors, Ma's return could be a turning point that restores confidence in Chinese tech stocks after years of regulatory crackdown.

Alibaba Group founder Jack Ma, who stepped down from all corporate positions in 2019 and has barely been seen in public since 2020, has reappeared on Alibaba campuses - and according to Bloomberg's sources, his involvement with the company is at its highest level in five years. Signs of his behind-the-scenes influence are becoming increasingly evident, especially in the context of the company's pivot toward artificial intelligence and declaring war on e-commerce rivals JD.com and Meituan.

According to the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post newspaper, which is owned by Alibaba Group, Ma remained only a key shareholder and "spiritual leader" of the holding company after leaving corporate positions. However, Bloomberg's interlocutors say that now the 61-year-old businessman is once again deeply involved in Alibaba's affairs. One source said Ma played a key role in Alibaba's decision to spend 50 billion yuan ($7 billion) on subsidies for buyers and sellers to fend off JD's surprise entry into the market. He also constantly asks top executives for updates on Alibaba's AI initiatives - sometimes several times a day, Bloomberg found out.

Ma is unlikely to return to Alibaba in an official capacity. But he now wears the company's badge every time he appears there, and employees take the gesture as a sign that the Alibaba founder is back in business, Bloomberg writes. "Jack Ma is Alibaba's main PR symbol, its most prominent personality and idol," Li Chengdong, head of the Haitun think tank in Beijing, told the agency. - "The return of the 'big boss' means he no longer seems a threat (to China's authorities - Oninvest), and that is encouraging for everyone."

Ma disappeared from the public eye in 2020 after a high-profile speech in which he publicly criticized China's financial system, calling state-owned banks "pawnshops." Beijing reacted instantly: just days later, regulators blocked the IPO of Ma's fintech company, Ant Group, and then launched a campaign to tighten controls on the entire tech sector. As a result, Alibaba's capitalization dropped by almost $700 billion - about the same amount Tencent is worth today. Investors have been waiting for Ma's return to Alibaba - a sign that the crackdown on China's tech sector has finally come to an end, Bloomberg notes.

Ma's rare public appearances in recent years have repeatedly sent shares soaring. After his disappearance in 2020, CNBC reported that Ma was "laying low" rather than missing for good, and Alibaba shares jumped 5%. In early 2023, securities rose again - this time by 5.5% - after Ma was spotted giving a lecture at a Chinese school in Hangzhou. In February 2024, quotes soared 6% after reports that Chinese President Xi Jinping wants to meet Ma.

On September 16, investors practically did not react to the fresh Bloomberg publication about Ma's return. At the opening of trading in Hong Kong, Alibaba shares rose along with the Asian market, and then lost all the growth.

According to FactSet, stock analysts have been recommending buying Alibaba securities for the past three months - with a consensus rating of Buy. The average target price of the tech giant's shares, calculated by MarketScreener, suggests a potential upside of 4.8% over the next year.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor