Tech billionaire Jack Ma leaves as a leader at exclusive university | Financial

Previously, the Chinese authorities would have forced Hupan University to stop new enrollments. Ma, co-founder of tech group Alibaba, has not appeared in public since October, when he openly criticized Chinese regulators and state banks.

Ma took the lead in 2015 when a group of industrial and technology companies decided to found Hupan. The highly exclusive university was founded in Hangzhou, Ma’s hometown. The aim of the academy is to teach a select group of people entrepreneurship, business management and corporate culture every year.

Common goal

Beijing is troubling that students are working towards top entrepreneurship with a common goal set by Ma rather than the Communist Party. Hupan’s curriculum is reportedly being adjusted and the university will be renamed.

It is not the first time that Beijing has set its sights on Ma. Last November, policymakers in Beijing torpedoed at the last minute the multi-billion dollar exchange of Ma’s payments company Ant Group. A competition investigation into Alibaba followed a month later. The Chinese government decided to take tougher action against large corporations that have a lot of power and until recently had to adhere to few rules.

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