Posted on 11/05/2020 7:49:43 AM PST by edwinland
SINGAPORE/HONG KONG/BEIJING (Reuters) - They say talk is cheap. Tell that to Jack Ma.
Corporate China's shiniest star was just days away from seeing his Ant Group list on the stock market in a record $37 billion deal, when he chose to launch a blistering public attack on the country's financial watchdogs and banks.
The regulatory system was stifling innovation and must be reformed to fuel growth, billionaire Ma told a summit in Shanghai on Oct. 24 attended by the great and the good of China's financial, regulatory and political establishment.
Chinese banks, he said, operated with a "pawnshop" mentality.
It was this speech that set off a chain of events that ultimately torpedoed the listing of Ant, the fintech titan Ma founded, according to interviews with government officials, company executives and investors. They all requested anonymity to disclose confidential details.
Stung by the attack, Chinese regulators and Communist Party officials set about reining in Ma's sprawling financial empire, culminating in the suspension of the IPO on Tuesday, two days before the eagerly awaited market debut in Shanghai and Hong Kong, the sources said.
While Ma might not have realised the impact his words would have, people close to him had been baffled to learn in advance about the tone of the speech he planned to deliver, according to two sources close to Ma.
They suggested the 56-year-old soften his remarks as some of China's most senior financial regulators were due to attend, but he refused to budge, believing he should be able to say what he wanted, the sources said.
"Jack is Jack. He just wanted to speak his mind," said one of the people.
It was a costly miscalculation.
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...
1. It's a great example of how the Chinese deal with criticism of the government, unlike under "totalitarian" leaders like Trump. CEO's like Bezos regularly slandered him and what happened to their business? Were they shut down like Jack Ma?
2. The story itself is a fantastic insight into the mentality that people have if they don't grow up respecting dissent and free speech. The writers do include a lot of good factual reporting (it is Reuters after all) but the story is basically couched as a cautionary tale about hubris (a.k.a. free speech) vs. humility (a.k.a. it's unpatriotic to criticize the government because it hurts the community).
3. This is Reuters, a US/UK news source. That makes it a great example of how the rise of China is bending the corporate media into a posture of suspicion of free speech.
Remember that Ma was removed from the Alibaba CEO spot, likely by CCP influencers. Joe Tsai has been less willing to talk publicly.
Ma is worth respecting.
This was great reporting by Reuters. The way reporting used to be.
BTW, What is the relationship between Alibaba and Ant. Does Baba own a stake in Ant?
How true is the rumor that Jack Ma was forced out of the company he founded — Alibaba, by the CCP?
RE: What is the relationship between Alibaba and Ant. Does Baba own a stake in Ant?
One thing we all know — Like Bill Gates with Microsoft, Jack Ma no longer has a say in Alibaba’s day to day operations. He resigned from the company several years ago. However, I believe he still owns substantial shares in the company.
Baba stock was hit pretty hard by Ant’s failed IPO.
I think I’m going to buy some Baba stocks here or sell some puts.
Alibaba was putting out fake numbers of orders during Christmas season years ago and got caught when someone divided up the number and the timeframe of delivery and said it was impossible to have that many orders and deliveries. It was stock fraud. Buy Chinese stock at your risk.
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