KazPost

Kazakhstan News
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Jack Ma Has Lost $11 Billion In 2 Months On China Scrutiny

Jack Ma Has Lost $11 Billion In 2 Months On China Scrutiny

While the co-founder of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. has been at the center of the clampdown, he isn't the only one feeling the squeeze.
Jack Ma's net worth has tumbled by almost $11 billion since the end of October as China stepped up scrutiny of his empire and the country's tech behemoths.

The 56-year-old former English teacher -- often associated with the meteoric rise of China's internet sector -- reached a peak of $61.7 billion this year and was poised to regain the title of Asia's wealthiest person. Now, with a fortune of $50.9 billion, he's since slipped to 25th on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a list of the world's 500 richest people.

While the co-founder of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. has been at the center of the clampdown, he isn't the only one feeling the squeeze.

Increased government scrutiny is forcing investors to rethink their holdings after the explosive demand for online services brought by coronavirus lockdowns sent those stocks surging earlier this year. In recent weeks, China's tech giants have lost hundreds of billions of dollars in market value. Pony Ma's Tencent Holdings Ltd. has dropped 15% since early November and Wang Xing's food delivery giant Meituan is down by almost a fifth from its peak last month. Alibaba's American depositary receipts have declined more than 25% since late October.

"There is a wave of similar signals showing that China's tech giants are staying on the radar of authorities," said Bruce Pang, head of macro and strategy research at China Renaissance Securities Hong Kong. "The anti-monopoly drafted guidance and antitrust review are just two of those signals."

Ma's problems began just as he was preparing to take payments company Ant Group Co. public. Instead, Chinese regulators pulled what would have been the world's largest initial public offering just two days before its scheduled debut in November.

The halt of Ant's $35 billion IPO was one of the first signs of China's crackdown on an industry that's gained influence over the daily lives of hundreds of millions. Following that, the nation's authorities slapped additional restrictions on the consumer-lending sector, proposed new rules to curb the dominance of internet giants, and fined Alibaba and a Tencent unit over acquisitions from years ago. Closer government scrutiny of mergers and acquisitions could add uncertainty to the growth of the internet behemoths.

"If similar deals happen in the U.S. or Europe -- for example, if Facebook merges with Google tomorrow -- their authorities will be cautious too," said Liu Cheng, a partner at law firm King & Wood Mallesons in Beijing. "The tech giants need to pay more attention to the compliance of their daily operations."

Despite the recent slide, China's internet moguls have all managed to add to their fortunes as shares of their companies surged earlier this year. The 21 tech billionaires that the Bloomberg index tracks in the nation have gained $187 billion in 2020. Even Ma's net worth is up $4.3 billion.

By contrast, titans of traditional sectors such as real estate have been hammered. China Evergrande Group Chairman Hui Ka Yan has lost $7.4 billion in 2020, more than anyone else in the world.

China's pledge to step up antitrust efforts and prevent the disorderly expansion of capital will continue to be a focus for the government next year, China Renaissance's Pang said. A more regulated tech industry will help push domestic consumption and grow the post-covid economy as the rest of the world struggles to contain the pandemic, he said.

"We view the latest regulatory move as a continuing effort on China's regulatory reform path, seeking to achieve more market fairness and encourage healthy development of the whole economy as well as of areas where internet companies' potential monopoly power has a material impact," Pang said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

KazPost
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
Historic Moment: Edgars Rinkevics, EU's First Openly Gay Head of State, Takes Office as Latvia's President
An Ominous Shift in Warfare: Western Powers Risk War Crimes and Violate International Norms with Cluster Bomb Supply to Ukraine
Bye bye democracy, human rights, freedom: French Cops Can Now Secretly Activate Phone Cameras, Microphones And GPS To Spy On Citizens
The Poor Man With Money, Mark Zuckerberg, Unveils Twitter Replica with Heavy-Handed Censorship: A New Low in Innovation?
The Double-Edged Sword of AI: AI is linked to layoffs in industry that created it
US Sanctions on China's Chip Industry Backfire, Prompting Self-Inflicted Blowback
Meta Copy Twitter with New App, Threads
The New French Revolution
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application Refiled, Naming Coinbase as ‘Surveillance-Sharing’ Partner
Corruption in the European Parliament - Business as usual
UK Crypto and Stablecoin Regulations Become Law as Royal Assent is Granted
Paris Suburb Grapples with Violence as Curfew Imposed: Saint-Denis Residents Express Dismay and Anger
A Delaware city wants to let businesses vote in its elections
Alef Aeronautics Achieves Historic Milestone with Flight Certification for World's First Flying Car
Google Blocked Access to Canadian News in Response to New Legislation
French Politicians Advocate for Pan-European Regulation on Social Media Influencers
×