China: Alibaba founder returns home after long overseas trip

Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba Group Holding, has recently returned to mainland China after more than a year of overseas travel, South China Morning Post reports.

Arriving in his home country, Ma visited a school he founded in the city of Hangzhou, the hometown of Alibaba, according to sources familiar with his schedule.

On March 27, Ma met teachers and students at Yungu School, a private school covering kindergarten to high school, that was funded by Alibaba founders in 2017. The billionaire businessman discussed education issues and ChatGPT technology with the school.

Ma returned to China after a brief stopover in Hong Kong, where he met friends and also briefly visited Art Basel. Ma is known to be very passionate about painting and the arts.

Ma, who retired as Alibaba’s chairman on his 55th birthday in 2019, has been travelling to different countries to learn about agriculture technology. His itinerary is closely followed by China watchers.

Although Ma has faded from public view in recent years, his whereabouts are closely watched, especially after the companies he founded – including Alibaba and its fintech affiliate Ant Group – came under regulatory scrutiny amid Beijing’s intensified crackdown on the tech sector.

After stepping down as Alibaba’s executive chairman, Ma – a former English teacher – said he wanted to dedicate his post-retirement days to philanthropy, rural education and pursuing his interest in reviving China’s rural sector.

In his rare appearances since then, Ma has been spotted in Europe, Japan and China, attending education and agricultural events. Earlier this year he was seen in Thailand as part of his study of farming and fishery, which followed a three-month stay in Japan where he looked into the operations and technology of fish farms.

During the Lunar New Year, Ma was in Hong Kong, where he was excited by what he saw as the city began to open up after nearly three years of Covid-19 travel restrictions, according to people close to him.