Chinese magnate Jack Ma has returned to mainland China after spending roughly a year overseas, according to people familiar with the matter, reported
Wall Street Journal.
Jack Ma, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.'s billion co-founder, travels have drawn a great deal of attention as China attempts to win back the trust of entrepreneurs after years of regulatory restrictions and COVID-19 epidemic measures that severely damaged the nation's private enterprises.
Some in the business world saw the tech titan's prolonged absence as proof that the tech industry in China was still plagued by uncertainty.
Ma, who spent the majority of the previous year in Japan, recently made a trip back to China, according to the sources quoted by Wall Street Journal.
He recently visited Singapore and Australia and spent the most recent Lunar New Year in Hong Kong.
Requests for comments from Alibaba and the Jack Ma Foundation were not immediately met with a response.
At his first news conference in his new role earlier this month, China's new premier spent a significant amount of time assuring entrepreneurs that Beijing supports the private sector and that its "commitment in this area is unequivocal and constant."
The South China Morning Post, which belongs to Alibaba, first announced Ma's return to China, reported Wall Street Journal.
Ma has maintained a low profile after Ant Group Co cancelled initial public offerings in Hong Kong and Shanghai that were expected to raise more than $34 billion in November 2020. -- ANI