Alibaba’s shares surge as Jack Ma reappears

Shares in internet giant Alibaba soared more than eight per cent on Wednesday after billionaire founder Jack Ma made his first public appearance since November, ending weeks of speculation about his whereabouts after the company took a kicking from Chinese regulators.
Ma – one of Asia’s richest people with a fortune estimated at around $58 billion (€48bn) – disappeared from the public eye after he was hauled in front of regulators for an October speech critical of China’s financial system. 
Shortly afterwards, the record-breaking $37 billion initial public offering (IPO) of his financial group Ant was spiked at the last minute by mainland officials in a shock move that some saw as retaliation for Ma’s outspokenness.
China’s finance authorities have since ordered Ant to change its business model and hack back its lending, insurance and wealth management services, while Alibaba is also the subject of an anti-monopoly probe.

The disappearance of Ma from the public eye set tongues wagging on his whereabouts. But a video clip released by Chinese financial news outlets on Wednesday showed him in a recording giving a speech to rural teachers as part of an awards ceremony organised by...