The news that billionaire Jack Ma was arrested, Alibaba shares plummeted

China Central Television (CCTV) on May 3 reported that the Hangzhou City Security Administration took “criminal coercive measures” against an individual with the surname Ma on April 25. He is accused of inciting subversion of state power and other activities that endanger national security.

According to CNBC, “coercive measures” could include detention, arrest or bail.

Sheet Global Times said the individual was “brainwashed by overseas anti-China forces since March 2022. Under the instigation of an anti-China subject, Ma created an anonymous online group to spread false rumors.

Billionaire Jack Ma. Photo: Reuters

The reason why Chinese netizens speculated that the above Ma object is billionaire Jack Ma partly because the name has 2 characters like the information on CCTV, partly because Hangzhou is where Alibaba’s headquarters is located.

Moreover, China’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), China’s anti-corruption agency, on April 20 announced an investigation into the influence of his fintech empire. Jack Maincluding transactions between Ant Group (Alibaba’s financial arm) and Chinese banks and state-owned enterprises.

Previously, at the end of December 2020, the Chinese government announced an investigation with Alibaba into suspected monopolistic practices and ordered Ant to restructure its operations to comply with regulations on governance. physical.

However, later, Hangzhou City police announced that the accused’s name had three characters, while Jack Ma’s Chinese name (Ma Van) only consisted of two characters.

According to the sheet Global Times, who is alleged in the news as a director of hardware research and development at an information technology company. Global Times confirmed that the information about the accused’s two-letter name was incorrect.

Headquarters of Alibaba Group in Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province – China. Photo: Reuters

According to CCTV, the man’s identity has not been revealed yet. Alibaba and Jack Ma Foundation have not yet commented on the incident.

Meanwhile, on Weibo, some people lead the story further, guessing that the person arrested is Ma Huateng (Ma Huateng), the founder of technology company Tencent. However, Tencent headquarters is located in Shenzhen, not Hangzhou.

After CCTV reported by authorities in Hangzhou, the Hong Kong-listed share price of Alibaba Group fell about 1% in trading on May 3, following a previous drop of 9%. Alibaba shares plunged 9.4% in Hong Kong, wiping out about $26 billion in market value.

Alibaba shares rebounded after a statement from the police made it clear that the accused’s name had three characters.

However, CCTV’s information earlier made many people restless, partly showing the anxiety of investors about the Chinese technology sector after a year of being tightened with a series of regulations. new.

Billionaire Jack Ma stepped down from Alibaba’s board of directors in 2020, no longer taking on executive responsibility, according to the company’s July 2021 announcement.

According to the Workers