According to the newspaper, the billionaire, who had fallen at the mercy of the Chinese authorities while “underground”, flew in a private plane to negotiate the fate of his business, as well as to a resort where he rested and played golf.
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Data on the flights of billionaire Jack Ma’s private plane dispels rumors that he may have fled China to Singapore or been under house arrest. The newspaper emphasizes that it was able to obtain information about Ma’s Gulfstream aircraft, as well as to investigate the flight data provided by Radarbox.
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At the end of last year, Ant Group, a company founded by Ma, planned to list its assets on the stock exchange and attract public funding. It was predicted that the company could succeed in attracting the largest funding on stock exchanges around the world.
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However, at the last minute, these plans were thwarted by the Chinese authorities, which suspended the listing of Ant Group shares on the stock exchange, because a few days earlier Ma had publicly criticized China’s traditional banking system.
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It was Ma’s speech that initiated a series of events that resulted in the billionaire disappearing from the public eye for several months. For the first time after a long break, Ma appeared in society only in the second half of January.
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The information obtained from the flights shows that Ma, despite the possible problems, was able to freely access his plane, with which he can fly to New York or London. However, Ma did not fly to these places. It is known that Ma flew less frequently after a public “clash” with the Chinese authorities. Before the conflict, he flew every three days, but once during his “disappearance” – once a week.
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He mostly flew from Shenzhen to Beijing and Hainan Island, where, according to Bloomberg, he played golf.
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When Chinese regulators wanted to talk about the Ant Group situation and its desire to list shares in the fall, Ma flew to Beijing at the time to take part in some talks. It should be noted that Ma does not officially hold any position in “Ant Group”.
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However, the Financial Times has confirmed that Ma actively participated in discussions about the company’s future. This has been confirmed by sources related to Ant Group as well as Alibaba, a company founded by Ma.
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It is said that the billionaire has tried to discuss the situation with the leaders of the Chinese Communist Party, bypassing the actual leaders of the companies.
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“I still have the opportunity to communicate and talk to myself [partijas] up, “commented a source in the Financial Times who wanted to remain anonymous.
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After the fateful speech, Ma did not disappear, but actively participated in discussions about the future fate of the company “Ant Group”. Flight data show that the day after the speech, Ma went to Beijing, where he spent four days. A few days later, he flew again from Shenzhen to Beijing, but this time he spent two weeks in the capital.
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Shortly after his arrival in the capital, Chinese regulators announced that Ma had been summoned for questioning, and stressed that new demands would be made against the “Ant Group”. The billionaire also flew to Beijing in January when regulators and Ant Group management discussed plans to restructure the company.
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According to the information available to the Financial Times, until his October address, the billionaire regularly traveled through China, where he participated in various talks with local authorities and received various awards.
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At the end of August, Ma flew to Beijing, where he received an order from the Jordanian authorities for help in fighting the coronavirus. He then flew to Kunming City, where he opened a new business school dormitory.
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Ma later spoke in Hangzhou, congratulating the local community on the start of the new school year. The newspaper writes that in early September, Ma flew to the city of Chongqing, where he “had fun until late at night – ate kebabs and drank beer.”
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He later met with officials in Changsha and Fuzhou and ate pasta in Wuhan (the starting point of the Covid-19 pandemic). In September, Ma closed Haikou, where he delivered a speech.
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Why Ma did not appear in public between November and the end of January, but continued to secretly attend various meetings, remains an open question. Ma has not commented on his “disappearance” in detail.
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