Absent on TV show, questions on Jack Ma’s whereabouts

With Jack Ma, co-founder of Alibaba Group, not turning up for the final episode of a TV show on which he was to appear as a judge, social media has become rife with speculations over the outspoken billionaire’s whereabouts — particularly given that he and his companies have been subjected to a crackdown from Chinese regulators over the past few months.

Alibaba Group has said that Ma did not appear on the TV show — Africa’s Business Heroes — because of a scheduling conflict.

Since September, the Chinese government has reportedly launched a “coordinated regulatory crackdown” — the most significant one of which was the last moment halting of the $34.5-billion public offering of Alibaba Group’s financial services arm Ant Group Co in November.