Alibaba Group founder Jack Ma appeared for the first time in public since Chinese authorities cracked down on his business empire.
His absence further fueled speculation about his whereabouts during a series of official audits for his businesses.
Public Appearance After A Long Hiatus
The millionaire met with 100 Chinese rural teachers on a video conference on Wednesday, according to local government media.
Alibaba shares rose 5% in Hong Kong stocks following the news.
Tianmu News, backed by the Zhejiang provincial government, initially reported that Mr Ma had spoken to teachers as part of his plans for an organization that helps the poor.
The annual event is usually held in the tourist town of Sanya, but was held online this year due to the restrictions of the Covid-19.
“We cannot meet in Sanya due to the epidemic,” he said in the speech.
“When the epidemic is over, we must find time to make up for everyone’s trip to Sanya, and then we will meet again!”
In the video, he was wearing a blue pullover and spoke directly to the camera from a room with gray marble walls and striped carpet.
It was unclear in the video or in Tianmu News about the location from where he was speaking.
Business Crackdown
Last month, China’s central bank fired officials from Ant Group and ordered a major overhaul of the company’s operations.
Mr. Ma is the founder and owner of majority shares in Ant Group, which is China’s largest payment provider.
Prior to ordering the company’s shakeup, regulators had already scuppered Ant Group’s listing on the Hong Kong and Shanghai exchanges.
The $ 37bn share market IPO was expected to be the largest in the world if it would have gone forward in 2020.
Separately, the China State Administration for Market Regulation announced an investigation into Alibaba on grounds of monopoly practices.
Allegations of Mr Ma’s whereabouts were raised earlier this month, when he missed a recording of African Heroes Business, a television program for which he was a judge.
Although Alibaba attributed his absence to a scheduling conflict, several media reports said he had not been seen since making comments that were seen as critical of China’s banking system at a public event in Shanghai in October.
