Tech billionaire Jack Ma 'missing' after criticising China in October 2020: Reports
Beijing: Over two months after Chinese Tech Billionaire and Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma gave a controversial speech in October 2020, he is yet to make a public appearance, fueling speculations of him being “missing” across social media platforms.
Jack Ma, in a speech on October 24, criticized China’s “pawnshop financial regulators and state-owned banks.” He also called for a reform of China’s regulation system for stifling business innovation and likened global banking regulations to an 'old people's club'.
Jack Ma also did not appear for the final episode of his own talent show, Africa’s Business Heroes in November and was replaced by Lucy Peng, an Alibaba executive to judge the show. An Alibaba spokesperson had told Financial Times that Jack was unable to attend the final episode of the show as a judge due to the conflict in schedule time.
"Today’s financial system is the legacy of the Industrial Age. We must set up a new one for the next generation and young people. We must reform the current system," Ma said in the speech. According to The Wall Street Journal, officials in Beijing dressed down Ma and suspended the $37billion initial public offering of his Ant Group on the direct order of President Xi in November.
Bloomberg noted that Ma was advised to remain in China after which an anti-monopoly investigation was launched into Ma's Alibaba Group Holding on Christmas Eve. Beijing also ordered Ma's financial tech company Ant Group to scale back its operations. The anti-monopoly investigation caused Alibaba's shares to drop by a quarter since their peak shortly after the October speech, wiping more than $10billion from Ma's fortune, Daily Mail UK reported. This resulted in Jack Ma landing in third place on the list of China's richest people, behind Pinduoduo chief executive Colin Huang and Tencent Holdings' Pony Ma Huateng. Ma now has an estimated current net worth of $63.1billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Reports speculate that Ma’s speech angered the Chinese government, which viewed his criticisms as an attack on the authority of the Communist Party. Ma’s business empire, Ant Group, has been under scrutiny by Beijing ever since the speech. Jack Ma was involved in charity work and has donated millions of face masks to Europe, the US, and the World Health Organisation in the backdrop of coronavirus. He also donated 2000 ventilators to New York hospitals.
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BJP responsible for escape of Deve Gowda kin Prajwal Revanna accused of sexual harassment: Congress
Bhubaneswar, Apr 29: The Congress on Monday alleged that the BJP was responsible for the "escape" of former prime minister H D Deve Gowda's grandson Prajwal Revanna against whom a "sexual harassment" case has been registered.
Revanna is the BJP-JD(S) alliance candidate from the Hassan Lok Sabha constituency in Karnataka, where voting was held in the second phase of elections on April 26.
Senior Congress leader Ajoy Kumar claimed, "Revanna left India shortly after several sex scandal videos recorded by him surfaced".
“He has recorded obscene videos. Such an accused has been allowed to leave the country freely. The BJP is responsible for it. The prime minister is also responsible for the escape of Revanna,” the Congress leader in charge of Odisha alleged.
He mocked the BJP, stating that "it should be called 'Balatkari Janata Party' as the saffron camp was supporting a rapist".
The JD(S) has decided to suspend Revanna over sexual abuse allegations, party chief H D Kumaraswamy said on Monday as the Congress and others tore into the BJP over the issue and its alliance with the southern party.
Police on Sunday booked Prajwal and his father -- JD(S) MLA and former minister H D Revanna -- for sexual harassment and criminal intimidation based on a complaint from a woman, who worked in their household.
As per official data, crimes against women have increased by 50 per cent during the NDA regime, Kumar claimed, adding that the number of such cases has "risen from 3 lakh to 4.45 lakh".
“For the first time, the country has been witnessing a prime minister, who is looking at all crimes from the party angle. The PM has a soft corner towards BJP leaders, irrespective of the accusation of heinous crimes against them,” the Congress leader claimed.
Odisha is in "fourth place in terms of crimes against women and the state is moving fast to be at the top position", said another Congress leader Bobbeeta Sharma, who was present at the press conference.
She alleged that "BJD leaders and MLAs, who are allegedly involved in atrocities on women are roaming freely because no action has been taken against them at the behest of the state government".
“Time has come to change the governments at the Centre and in Odisha," she added.
